TREASURY

Broadband: Scotland

David Hamilton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has assessed what effect the revenue generated from the forthcoming auction of the 4G mobile telephone spectrum will have on the block grant for Scotland.

Danny Alexander: The Barnett formula does not apply to Government receipts. However, where there are any changes to spending plans, the Barnett formula will be applied in the normal way.

Child Benefit

Helen Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families whose child benefit will be reduced or discontinued from April 2013 have one or more children who is disabled.

David Gauke: This information is not available.

Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority: Pay

Helen Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any Minister was (a) aware of and (b) approved the arrangements for the remuneration of the interim chief executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority; at what date they became aware of those arrangements; and if he will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: HM Treasury was not approached on the matter or asked to approve remuneration arrangements for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority’s interim chief executive. Given the authority’s status as an independent parliamentary body, HM Treasury approval was not required.

Individual Savings Accounts

Alun Cairns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  for what reason the annual allowance for stocks and shares individual savings accounts is higher than the allowance for cash individual savings accounts;
	(2)  for what reason there is a division between stocks and shares and cash individual savings accounts;
	(3)  if he will make it his policy to allow the full individual savings account allowance to be held in cash.

Sajid Javid: The current annual subscription limit for Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) is £11,280, half of which can be invested in cash. Different ISA subscription limits have applied for cash and stocks and shares investments since ISAs were introduced, and this reflects decisions made by the previous Government about the design and structure of the account. The Government keeps all .aspects of tax policy, including ISAs, under review, and any changes to the cash ISA limit would be announced at the Chancellor's autumn statement.

National Insurance Contributions: New Businesses

Anne-Marie Morris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses participated in the National Insurance Holiday Scheme in the latest period for which figures are available.

Greg Clark: HMRC has so far received around 20,000 applications for the NICs holiday scheme.

National Insurance Contributions: New Businesses

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost of extending the National Insurance Contribution Scheme holiday to (a) 30 September 2014 and (b) 31 March 2015.

David Gauke: Reliable estimates of the potential cost of extending the national insurance contributions (NICs) holiday to 30 September 2014 and 31 March 2015 are not available due to data limitations.

National Insurance Contributions: New Businesses

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much and what proportion of the funding allocated to the National Insurance Contributions Scheme holiday has been spent to date.

David Gauke: Take-up of the NICs holiday so far has not been as strong as expected, but HMRC have received around 20,000 registrations for the scheme to date. We estimate that the NIC holiday is supporting in the region of 70,000 jobs.
	Because the NICs holiday is a relief, lower than anticipated take-up will be reflected in total NICs receipts and the overall position of the public finances.

National Insurance Contributions: New Businesses

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost of extending the National Insurance Contribution Scheme holiday (a) across the UK and (b) to all small businesses in the UK.

David Gauke: A reliable estimate of the potential cost of extending the national insurance contributions (NICs) holiday across the UK and to all small businesses in the UK is not available due to data limitations.
	The Government have considered the case for extending the NICs holiday to all existing micro businesses but believe the best use of public funds at this time is to keep the NICs holiday as a targeted scheme for those areas in most need of employment support.

Public Appointments

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Head of Scotland Analysis and Stakeholder Engagement position in his Department has been filled; and when he expects to publish an announcement in respect of this post.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 9 November 2012
	The Treasury does not comment on the appointment of its staff below senior civil servant level.

Public Expenditure

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress the Government has made in reforming the Barnett formula.

Danny Alexander: As set out in the Coalition programme for government, our priority at this time must be to reduce the national deficit. Consideration of any changes to the current system must therefore await the stabilisation of the public finances.

Public Service Pensions Bill: Scotland

Gordon Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 25 October 2012, Official Report, column 1019W, on the Public Service Pensions Bill: Scotland, on what date he informed the Scottish Government of the need for a legislative consent motion in the Scottish Parliament.

Danny Alexander: The Scottish Government were advised on 4 September 2012 of the provisions within the Public Service Pensions Bill that trigger the Sewel convention.

Public Service Pensions Bill: Scotland

Gordon Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 2 November 2012, Official Report, column 406W, on Public Service Pensions Bill: Scotland, which public bodies for which the Scottish Parliament has competence are within the scope of the Public Service Pensions Bill.

Danny Alexander: There are currently no public bodies for which the Scottish Parliament has competence listed in Schedule 10 of the Public Service Pensions Bill.

Public Service Pensions Bill: Scotland

Gordon Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 2 November 2012, Official Report, column 406W, on Public Service Pensions Bill: Scotland, on what date he met Ministers in the Scottish Government to discuss the legislative consent motion.

Danny Alexander: The Scottish Government was advised on 4 September 2012 of the provisions within the Public Service Pensions Bill that trigger the Sewel Convention.
	HM Treasury has had regular discussions with the Scottish Government on public service pension matters. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to make details of discussions with the Scottish Government public.

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of calls were answered by HM Revenue and Customs contact centres in each of the last three years for which records are available.

David Gauke: The proportion of call attempts handled by HMRC contact centres in the last three financial years is as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			 2011-12 74 
			 2010-11 48 
			 2009-10 76 
		
	
	HMRC are committed to improving service levels for customers and announced up to an extra 1,000 staff for their contact centres with the aim of handling 90% of call attempts by the end of 2012-13, two years earlier than planned. This improvement in service levels will also reduce call waiting times.

Serious Fraud Office

John Spellar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take in respect of the report of the National Audit Office on the 2011-12 Accounts of the Serious Fraud Office regarding the voluntary redundancy costs for the former chief executive officer.

Danny Alexander: It is regrettable that the SFO should have made redundancy payments without obtaining the proper approval.
	However, since these payments were made the Attorney-General has appointed a new director to the SFO. The Treasury is satisfied that the new director has recognised the irregularity of these payments and taken active steps to review the matter and ensure that this cannot happen again.

Tax Avoidance

David Hamilton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the average loss of revenue to the Exchequer for each person falsely classified as self-employed (a) across all sectors of the economy and (b) in the construction sector, by the form of taxation avoided.

David Gauke: HMRC continues to monitor all avoidance risks in deciding what action to take. Formal, detailed estimates of the Exchequer effects of individual risks are not routinely produced. This means tax gap estimates are not available at this level of detail. On 18 October 2012, HMRC published Measuring Tax Gaps which sets out estimates of the tax gap, including that arising from avoidance, across all HMRC administered taxes:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/mtg-2012.pdf
	The cost of false self-employment in the construction industry was estimated to be in the region of £350 million per year in the consultation document “False self-employment in construction: taxation of workers”, which was published in July 2009:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/consult_falseselfemploymentconstruction_ 200709.pdf
	This estimate has not been updated since.

Tax Avoidance

Grahame Morris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the effect on revenue of aggressive tax avoidance schemes employed by companies; and whether such losses are included in HM Revenue and Customs' estimate of the tax gap.

David Gauke: The most recent estimate of the net tax gap due to avoidance is published in Measuring Tax Gaps 2012:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/mtg-2012.pdf
	The total tax gap is estimated to be around £32 billion in 2010-11. Of this total figure, the estimated tax lost to avoidance by all taxpayers and across all taxes was around £5 billion.
	Within this figure, the estimated loss to avoidance of corporation tax is around £1.3 billion.
	The tax lost to all avoidance is around 1% of liabilities. This low percentage shows that the vast majority of taxpayers do not use avoidance schemes, and HMRC takes effective action against those who do.

Taxation: Broadband

Nia Griffith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will use the revenue received by the Exchequer from the forthcoming auction of the 4G mobile telephone spectrum for the purpose of building affordable homes over the next two years.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 6 November 2012
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central (Chi Onwurah) today.

Taxation: Companies

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to ensure that companies operating on multiple sites throughout the UK, generating significant annual turnover and profit, pay an appropriate rate of tax on such profits.

David Gauke: Along with most major economies in the world, the UK charges corporation tax on profits derived from economic activity carried on here, not sales or turnover. The UK system is based on internationally agreed principles that determine how much profit each country should tax.
	At the G20 meeting of Finance Ministers on 4-5 November 2012 in Mexico City, alongside Germany and with the support of other countries including the US and France, the Chancellor called for concerted international co-operation to strengthen international tax standards as a first step in promoting a better way of dealing with profit shifting and base erosion of corporate tax at the global level.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will publish the standards required from landlords who are contracted by the UK Border Agency to house asylum seekers.

Mark Harper: In line with Government transparency commitments, details of the standards required are already in the public domain.
	The particular document that details the standards is titled “COMPASS Project Schedule 2 Accommodation and Transport—Statement of Requirements” and is available on the Contracts Finder website at:
	http://www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk
	It is also available on the UK Border Agency website at:
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/workingwithus/workingwithasylum/compassprogramme/

Catering

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department has spent on refreshments since May 2010.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office accounting systems do not identify separate expenditure on refreshments. The information cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.

Grandparents: Contact Orders

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on the use of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 in relation to grandparents seeking to make contact with their children.

Damian Green: It is an offence under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 for a person to pursue a course of conduct which amounts to harassment of another, and or ought to know amounts to harassment. The Act also makes it an offence to pursue a course of conduct which causes someone to fear that violence will be used against him or her.
	Following investigation and charge, it is for the court to determine whether the prosecution has made out the elements of the offence. This is the case regardless of the relationship between the victim and the defendant.

Heathrow Airport

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer to Viscount Waverley from Lord Henley of 11 October 2011, Official Report, House of Lords, column WA223, on airports: Heathrow, by what date Ministers expect to publish the findings of the exercise to estimate the cost of the extradition process.

Mark Harper: holding answer 8 November 2012
	The exercise is still ongoing. The estimates will be published shortly.

UK Border Agency

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to respond to the letters from the hon. Member for Harrow West to the UK Border Agency of 27 July 2012 and 12 September 2012 regarding Mr Marikar of Harrow.

Mark Harper: The UK Border Agency replied to the hon. Member on 8 November 2012.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of written parliamentary questions to her Department received holding responses in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Mark Harper: The Home Office responded to 3,526 parliamentary questions between 1 November 2011 and 31 October 2012. A total of 545 parliamentary questions received holding responses during that period (15.46%).
	Parliamentary questions on Government and Equalities are included in the figures up until 4 September 2012 when the Government Equalities Office (GEO) moved to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
	The Government has committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the committee at the end of the current session. Statistics relating to performance for the 2010-12 parliamentary session are available on the Parliament website at:
	http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/procedure/P35_Memorandum_Leader_of_the_House_ Monitoring_PQs.pdf

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Equal Pay

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities 
	(1)  what recent steps she has taken to ensure pay equality between men and women;
	(2)  what recent steps she has taken to tackle (a) sexual discrimination to women after they return from maternity leave and (b) other forms of sexual discrimination in the workplace.

Jo Swinson: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	The Government is taking a range of steps, aimed at employers and employees, to ensure pay equality and tackle sex discrimination. We have launched a voluntary initiative to promote transparency on gender equality. ‘Think, Act, Report’ asks private and voluntary sector employers to tackle barriers for women at work by taking a step by step approach to greater transparency on pay and other workplace issues. This initiative is supported by a large number of employers including BP, Tesco and Deloitte.
	Through the Employment and Regulatory Reform Bill we are giving employment tribunals the power to order equal pay audits where an employer has been found to have breached equal pay and/or sex discrimination laws.
	We are also making it easier for SMEs and micro businesses to get good quality advice and support on equality and employment related matters, through a series of regional events with Ministers. Short guides are available on the Government Equalities Office website which explain the law for businesses and employees clearly.
	Additionally, in October 2012, Government launched a new Equality Advisory and Support Service. This is aimed at individuals who need expert advice and support on discrimination issues including sex discrimination.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Ash Dieback Disease

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what resources he has allocated to examine the causes of the disease Chalara fraxinea; whether extreme wet weather conditions are a contributory factor; and what resources he is allocating to establishing the causes of the spread of the disease.

David Heath: ‘Chalara fraxinea’ has been identified as the causative pathogen of Ash Dieback. Infection in the environment is likely to be by wind-borne spores.
	The Forestry Commission and the UK plant health authorities have stepped up the response and redeployed additional inspection capability with over 500 people per day carrying out a rapid survey during the first week of November to give a picture of where ‘Chalara’ is present across GB. They are also continuing to inspect material traced forward from the infected nurseries and to monitor ash trees in the wider environment in the vicinity of infected sites.
	There is scientific recognition that ‘Chalara’ (similar to other fungal pathogens such as ‘phytophthora’) are more likely to produce fruiting bodies in moist conditions. There is no evidence that the extreme wet weather conditions are a contributory factor to the new findings.

Ash Dieback Disease

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with local authorities on ash dieback disease.

David Heath: The Secretary of State has recently updated the Local Government Association (LGA) and senior officials from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) at two cross-Government meetings. Senior DCLG officials have attended daily meetings to discuss progress in managing the disease, and the LGA is a member of our core stakeholder group for this issue.

Ash Dieback Disease

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department requires trees found to be infected with ash dieback disease to be incinerated commercially or whether they can be used for domestic fuel.

David Heath: Until further notice movement of all ash material off an infected site under a Statutory Plant Heath Notice is prohibited. We will review the measures for controlling movement of wood from infected trees once we have fully assessed the national disease situation. However, at the present time, the wood may only be used as fuel if it remains on the site covered by the Plant Health Notice.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has received any representations from representatives of the tourism industry about the proposed pilot badger culls.

David Heath: Natural England carried out a four-week ‘opportunity to comment’ (OTC) to allow those who might be affected by culling in the two areas to submit any concerns. The OTC ran from 24 January to 23 February 2012. 37 of the 184 responses received for OTC expressed a concern with regard to the effect of the pilot culls on tourism businesses, e.g. B&Bs, guest houses, caravan and camping businesses. Natural England has reviewed these responses, and a summary of the responses received is available at:
	http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/regulation/wildlife/species/btb-otcsummary.aspx

Sky Lanterns

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if his Department will issue guidance to warn people of the harm sky lanterns can cause to livestock and wild animals.

David Heath: The Government is aware of concerns about the impacts of sky lanterns on animals, crops and property and has taken steps to raise public awareness about the potential dangers sky lanterns pose, and to encourage people to think carefully before using them. In the run up to bonfire night DEFRA appealed through local media for people to consider alternatives to sky lanterns.
	I have commissioned an independent study to examine the scale of the risks associated with the use of sky lanterns, and their impact on livestock, plants and the environment. The results of this study will help to determine whether any future Government action may be required.

Waste and Resources Action Programme

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many dinners for directors of the Waste and Resources Action Programme have been held in the last three years; at what cost to the public purse; and at what venues.

Richard Benyon: Dinner is provided to directors only when travelling overnight on company business. In the last three years there have been two board meetings which required overnight stays in Edinburgh and Cardiff respectively. The total cost of dinners in Edinburgh (Roxburghe Hotel, September 2011) was £407, and in Cardiff (Maldron Hotel, September 2012) was £312.

Waste and Resources Action Programme

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Waste and Resources Action Programme has had use of either (a) a Government procurement card or (b) any other form of corporate credit card or charge card in the last four years; and what records are held of such transactions.

Richard Benyon: The Waste and Resources Action Programme does not have a Government procurement card. A corporate credit card is provided to senior managers for travel expenses. Full records of all items of expenditure are kept, and all items charged are authorised in-line with the organisation's travel expenses policy.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Boarding Schools: Abuse

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Attorney-General what estimate he has made of the number of cases of alleged offences involving sexual abuse at boarding schools in respect of which there was insufficient evidence to prosecute in the last 10 years.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the locations where it is alleged offences have been committed. This data could be obtained only by examining all of the CPS’s files, which would incur a disproportionate cost.

Nature Conservation: Prosecutions

Julie Elliott: To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions for (a) trade in endangered animals, (b) illegal taxidermy, (c) reptile smuggling and (d) wild bird netting have been made in the last three years.

Oliver Heald: Records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) identify the number of offences in which a prosecution commenced and reached a first hearing in magistrates’ courts, rather than the number of defendants prosecuted. Offences of trading in endangered animals and smuggling reptiles may be prosecuted under section 8 of the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 1997 (COTES 1997) or section 170 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979. Offences of illegal taxidermy and netting wild birds may be prosecuted under sections l(2)(a), 5(1)(b) and 6(2) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, sections 3 and 8 of COTES 1997 or section 170 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979.
	During the last three years, the number of these offences prosecuted by the CPS is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 { 1(2)(a) and 21(1) } 6 12 1 
			 Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 { 5(1)(b) and 21(1) } 1 9 8 
			 Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 { 6(2)(a) and 21(1) } 0 0 2 
		
	
	
		
			 Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 1997 { 3(1) } 1 5 7 
			 Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 1997 { 8(1) and (8) } 21 59 46 
			 Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 1997 { 8(2) and (8) } 3 4 8 
			 Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 { 170 } 121 374 938 
		
	
	No discrete records are held by the CPS to identify the type of animal which may have been smuggled or the method of trapping wild birds. This information could be obtained only by examining all relevant case files, which would incur a disproportionate cost.

Policing and Crime Act 2009

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions there were under section 14 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012 to date.

Oliver Heald: Section 14 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 created a new offence under section 53A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 of paying for the sexual services of a prostitute subjected to force, threats, coercion or deception. Section 53A came into effect on 1 April 2010. Records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) identify the number of offences in which a prosecution commenced and reached a first hearing in magistrates courts, rather than the number of defendants prosecuted. There is no indication of the final outcome or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at the time of finalisation. In 2011, 16 such offences were prosecuted, and in 2012, (to date) eight offences have been prosecuted.

TRANSPORT

Airports

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what legal powers he used to establish the Commission chaired by Sir Howard Davies to review the UK's hub airport capacity.

Simon Burns: The Secretary of State for Transport has a constitutional role to develop policies for the improvement of the UK's transport systems. The Airports Commission is not a statutory body and was established as part of this constitutional role.

Blue Badge Scheme

David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to introduce a temporary Blue Badge scheme for those people suffering from a time-limited disability.

Norman Baker: I have given this matter some detailed consideration but have concluded that it would not be right to widen the scope of the eligibility criteria of the Blue Badge Scheme. With over 2.5 million badges already on issue, it is important that we ensure the scheme remains sustainable and protects preferential parking facilities for those who most need them. My Department has recently issued local authorities with advice on how they could use existing powers to provide locally determined parking concessions within their areas. For example, some local authorities grant parking concessions to assist their elderly residents. They could, if they wish, use the same powers to help those with temporary disabilities.

Crossrail Line

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) discussions and (b) correspondence Ministers or officials in his Department have had with (A) construction companies, (B) trade unions, (C) Crossrail Ltd and (D) other parties on reports that blacklists (i) were and (ii) are being used by contractors completing construction work on public contracts relating to the delivery of Crossrail.

Stephen Hammond: The Department has not entered into any discussions or correspondence regarding any allegations of blacklisting in connection with the Crossrail project.
	Crossrail Ltd is responsible for the delivery of the Crossrail project and the management of its contractors. In response to this question we have sought further information on this issue from Crossrail which has stated that it is not aware of, and has seen no evidence of, blacklisting of any kind in connection with the Crossrail project.

Directly Operated Railways

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many consultants and legal advisers Directly Operated Railways have employed since November 2009.

Simon Burns: Since November 2009, Directly Operated Railways have employed 20 consultants periodically and legal advisers in addition to individuals employed by the business.

Directly Operated Railways

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 24 October 2012, Official Report, column 892W, on Directly Operated Railways, what advice he has received in respect of the capacity of Directly Operated Railways.

Simon Burns: In the normal course of business, Directly Operated Railways provides regular advice to the Department for Transport officials regarding activities being undertaken in relation to their Operator of Last Resort role. Accordingly, regular advice is provided to the Secretary of State on such matters as required on an ongoing basis. This includes advice on current matters such as West Coast Mainline.

Filton Airfield

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the future of Filton Airfield.

Simon Burns: The Department for Transport has not made any assessment of the future of Filton airfield. This is a commercial matter for the airfield's owners.

Methanol: Fuels

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of methanol as a renewable fuel;
	(2)  if he will consider introducing methanol fuel into the haulage industry.

Norman Baker: The Government supports the use of renewable transport fuels, including renewable methanol, through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). The latest RTFO statistics show that 8 million litres of renewable methanol were supplied in the UK from April to July 2012. As for its longer term potential as a transport fuel, this Department and the Department for Energy and Climate Change jointly commissioned in 2011 an assessment of the potential for the UK to develop an advanced biofuels industry. This research, available via the website of the National Non Food Crops Centre, noted that biomethanol had the potential to be among the most cost-effective liquid fuels that could be made via the gasification of biomass.
	The haulage industry makes its own choices on fuel use and bases its decisions on many factors including cost, availability and environmental impacts. The Department for Transport has no current plans to encourage the use of non-renewable methanol as a transport fuel, but will continue to support the use of renewable methanol via the RTFO. Earlier this year the Department announced a competition for funding for low carbon truck and infrastructure demonstration trials. Trials using alternative fuels were eligible for funding provided that they offered at least 15% CO2 saving compared with diesel. No applications, however, were made in respect of methanol.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the demographic background of drivers who have signed up to schemes using telematics.

Stephen Hammond: The Secretary of State for Transport has made no assessment of the demographic background of drivers who have signed up to schemes using telematics.

Ports

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much public investment has been made at each of the 20 largest ports by tonnage in the UK in each year since 1982.

Stephen Hammond: Full information in the form requested is not held centrally, and could not be retrieved without disproportionate cost.
	Investment by ports is normally undertaken on a commercial basis without recourse to Government subsidy.
	Freight Facilities Grants awarded for capital expenditure at ports among the 20 largest include the following non-comprehensive list for years of award since 1998:
	Port of Tyne, 1998: £0.7 million
	Port of Bristol, 2000: £15.7 million
	Port of Tyne, 2000: £0.3 million
	Forth Ports, 2001: £11 million
	ABP Southampton, 2002: £0.8 million
	ABP Southampton, 2002: £1.2 million (for rail facility at Hams Hall)
	Port of Tilbury, 2002: £3 million
	Cargill plc at Port of Liverpool, 2002: £0.3 million
	Sitos at Port of Liverpool, 2003: £0.4 million
	Big Ditch Shipping at Port of Manchester, 2003: £0.5 million
	Henty Oil at Port of Liverpool, 2006: £0.2 million.
	Grants in Scotland and Northern Ireland are now a matter for the devolved Administrations.

Puma Helicopters: Accidents

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress there has been in the investigations into the cause of the crash of a Super Puma 250 helicopter off Shetland on 22 October 2012.

Simon Burns: The investigations into the cause of the accident to the Super Puma EC225 on 22 October 2012 are focussed on identifying the cause of the failure of the gearbox shaft that provides drive to the two oil pumps. The AAIB are working closely with Eurocopter, the manufacturer the UK CAA and the European Aviation Safety Agency. Currently, the shaft is being subjected to detailed examination by experts from Eurocopter and QinetiQ under the supervision of Investigators from the AAIB.

Puma Helicopters: Safety

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the safety record of Super Puma 250 helicopters.

Simon Burns: The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has overall responsibility for assuring the continuing airworthiness of these helicopters. EASA issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive on 25 October following the ditching in the North sea on 22 October. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has had several meetings with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), which is investigating the ditching, and with EASA and other interested parties. The CAA issued an Operational Directive on 25 October 2012 to prevent helicopters covered by the EASA Emergency Airworthiness Directive from operating commercial flights over areas of open sea until further notice. The CAA is liaising closely with AAIB over its continuing investigation.

Railway Stations: Opening Hours

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has undertaken on ensuring that emergencies can be dealt with efficiently when stations are unstaffed to inform its decisions on requests to change the opening hours of ticket stations.

Simon Burns: None.
	The consideration of proposals to change ticket office opening hours under the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement include consideration of security arrangements if applicable.

Railways: Fares

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether there is a statutory requirement that determines the date by which the Association of Train Operating Companies must announce rail fare prices for 2013; and what that date is.

Simon Burns: There is no statutory requirement that determines the date by which rail fare prices for 2013 must be announced. Each train operator sets and publishes the conditions and prices of its fares in line with the processes in the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, which can be found at:
	http://www.atoc.org/about-atoc/rail-settlement-plan/governance/

Roads: Accidents

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of how many (a) male and (b) female drivers aged between 17 and 25 have been responsible for causing road traffic accidents in each of the last five years.

Stephen Hammond: The Department does not collect information explicitly on responsibility for road traffic accidents nor does it attribute any blame to drivers for accidents.
	The Department also only collects information relating to personal injury accidents, and therefore does not include damage-only accidents in its statistics.
	The number of male and female car drivers, aged 17 to 24 inclusive, involved in personal injury accidents in each of the last five years are as follows:
	
		
			 Reported number of drivers aged 17 to 24 inclusive involved in personal injury accidents, by gender, Great Britain, 2007-11 
			 Number of drivers 
			  Male Female 
			 2007 33,271 18,895 
			 2008 29,869 17,898 
			 2009 28,138 17,403 
			 2010 23,676 15,535 
			 2011 21,244 14,583

Thameslink Railway Line

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent to date in preparation for the forthcoming award of the Thameslink rail franchise.

Simon Burns: The information is as follows:
	Technical a dvice
	The cost of work done by Atkins, as technical advisers, for TSGN is £416,301. This amount includes VAT, as we expect that VAT will not be recoverable on this contract (this is under review by the Department's VAT team). The cost includes all invoices received to date. There is an estimated £66,000 plus VAT (£79,200) for variation works that have not yet been invoiced. This is not included in the figure given. While further invoices are not expected for this franchise (other than the aforementioned variation), there may be wash up invoices which would increase this cost.
	Legal advice
	The cost of work done by Eversheds, as legal advisers, for TSGN is £136,080. This amount includes VAT, as VAT is not recoverable on this contract. The cost shown includes an accrual for £56,370 for an invoice that has not yet been received.
	Internal costs
	The Department has estimated its staff costs to be £664,355 to the end of October 2012.
	Further, there are an estimated £15,630 of costs relating to the running of the data site.
	The total of costs shown above is £1,232,366.
	Costs shown above are subject to being updated, should further information come to light.

Transport: National Policy Statements

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to publish the National Networks National Policy Statement.

Stephen Hammond: The purpose of the National Networks National Policy Statement (NN NPS) is to provide the Planning Inspectorate with a policy framework within which to consider applications for planning consent for developments on the strategic road network, the rail network and for rail freight interchange facilities over a certain size.
	We are currently undertaking a wide-ranging review of the status and future of the strategic road network. Once this work has concluded, we will use the results to prepare a National Networks National Policy Statement.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Sick Leave

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, for how many and what proportion of days, on average, staff of the House of Commons service at each pay grade were absent from work as a result of ill health in each of the last five years.

John Thurso: The figures for the House of Commons and PICT are:
	
		
			  Average working days lost per employee (12 month period) 
			 Payband 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 SCS 1.9 3.0 3.5 1.1 1.2 
			 A 3.3 4.0 4.4 4.1 4.3 
			 B 5.3 4.0 4.0 5.3 5.2 
			 C 8.2 8.9 7.7 5.4 5.5 
			 D 9.6 8.1 8.9 9.9 8.6 
			 E 16.6 24.8 34.4 18.9 9.8 
			 Craft 11.9 12.3 12.3 15.7 15.1 
			 Catering 8.9 13.6 10.4 12.7 10.6 
			 Total House(1) 7.2 7.8 7.1 7.1 6.5 
			 (1) Includes a small number of staff (e.g. sandwich students) not shown separately. 
		
	
	The average number of working days lost through sickness absence in the House of Commons and PICT is lower than that in the economy in general. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's ‘Absence Management Survey 2011’ gives an overall average of 7.7 days per employee per year, while the public sector average is 9.1 days per employee per year.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Colombia

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding her Department has allocated for aid to Colombia in the areas of (a) education, (b) health care and (c) infrastructure in the current financial year.

Alan Duncan: DFID has not allocated any aid to Columbia in the current financial year.

Nigeria

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid provided by her Department is directed towards groups that promote religious tolerance in Nigeria; and how much such aid was provided in the latest period for which figures are available.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID provided support for a project titled ‘Peace in Jos: Arresting the Cycle of Violent Conflict’. It was implemented by the Institute of Governance and Social Research (IGSR), a Nigerian NGO in Jos. The programme aimed to reduce inter-faith violence through supporting public campaigns, conflict management training, inter-faith mediation groups and early warning systems. The programme trained 3,000 youth peace ambassadors from both Christian and Muslim communities.
	DFID provided £800,000 over three years between mid-2009 and mid-2012. A follow up grant is being considered.

Overseas Aid

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to ensure that UK aid money is spent effectively.

Justine Greening: DFID already has robust systems in place to deliver value for money. Since 2010, DFID has re-engineered business procedures to ensure good value. The main tools are:
	(a) the new Business Case process which has brought value for money and results up front in the design of all programmes;
	(b) annual reviews that enable us to monitor the value for money of programmes during implementation; and
	(c) research and evaluation to identify what works and to learn lessons from both our own projects and others.
	Since taking over as International Development Secretary, I have increased the rigour around spending decisions to ensure that UK aid money is spent effectively. I now approve all programmes above £5 million and supplier contracts over £1 million, and will be meeting with our top suppliers to ensure that we get better value for money in new contracts.

Papua New Guinea

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what initiatives her Department has in place to promote human rights in Papua New Guinea;
	(2)  what steps her Department has taken to provide support for reducing discrimination against and abuse of women in Papua New Guinea in each of the last five years.

Alan Duncan: DFID does not have a bilateral programme with Papua New Guinea. The British high commission raises human rights issues as part of a regular dialogue with the Government of Papua New Guinea and co-ordinates closely with regional partners on how best to support the Government in improving human rights.
	The status of women remains a key challenge for Papua New Guinea, particularly in tackling high levels of domestic violence and increasing female issues through the British high commission and has funded local organisations which seek to empower women in business and organisations which provide shelter and counselling to victims of sexual and domestic violence.

UN Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether her Department has taken steps to support other countries to implement the UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate Illicit Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects in each of the last five years.

Alan Duncan: Over the last five years, the UK has supported the European Union, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and NATO in their work to implement the UN Programme of Action. The objectives of these projects include improving stockpile management and the destruction of surplus weapons. They are predominantly focused in countries across sub-Saharan Africa but also support certain parts of Latin America, central and eastern Asia, the Balkans and the middle east.
	In addition, between 2007-10, the UK provided funding to Saferworld to support the development and implementation of initiatives and mechanisms for the control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) and international arms transfers. The UK also funded the Regional Centre on Small Arms (RECSA) in the great lakes and horn of Africa to combat the problem of the proliferation and illicit trafficking of SALW.
	The UK remains committed to securing a strong, legally binding arms trade treaty which will introduce common international standards for exports of conventional arms including SALW.

Zimbabwe

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to ensure Zimbabwe meets its obligations to abide by mandatory rulings of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.

Justine Greening: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to him on 1 November 2012, Official Report, column 324W.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press Inquiry

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether the recommendations of the Leveson Inquiry will be made available in full to those who gave evidence to the Inquiry at the same time as they are submitted to the Government; and if she will make a statement.

Maria Miller: The Leveson report will be made available in accordance with the Inquiries Act 2005. An explanation of the Act can be found here:
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/12/contents

Human Rights: Religion

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what instructions her Department issued to its legal representatives to present the Government's case before the European Court of Human Rights in the cases of Nadia Eweida and others.

Helen Grant: Communications between Ministers, officials and their legal advisers for the purposes of obtaining or giving legal advice are subject to legal professional privilege, including instructions given to lawyers for the purposes of defending litigation.

Sick Leave

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport for how many and what proportion of days, on average, staff of her Department at each pay grade were absent from work as a result of ill health in each of the last five years.

Maria Miller: The following table shows the proportion of days on average, staff in each pay grade were absent as a result of ill health in each of the last five years:
	For 2011-12, the civil service wide sickness rate was 7.6 average working days lost.
	
		
			 Civil service pay grade 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 SCS 0.7 2.8 1.4 1.7 1.2 
			 A(U) 1.0 1.0 4.0 1.9 1.3 
			 A 2.2 1.5 2.0 2.6 3.7 
			 B 1.7 3.2 4.1 3.7 4.0 
			 C 2.9 4.0 5.4 8.6 6.1 
			 D 3.0 7.9 22.3 15.1 11.2 
			 Total 2.1 3.3 4.8 4.9 4.2 
		
	
	This Department is committed to the health and welfare of its staff, helping staff to stay healthy and reducing the need for sick leave. Support is provided to staff returning from long-term sick leave, referring them to Occupational Health to advise on how best to facilitate a return to work and offering access to an Employee Assistance programme for independent advice and support.

Sports: Public Participation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent steps the Government has taken to encourage involvement in community sports clubs.

Hugh Robertson: Sport England, as part of the new Youth and Community Sport Strategy, will invest at least £1 billion of lottery and Exchequer funding over the next four years to help to ensure that people, particularly those aged 14-25, are regularly playing sport. Links will be improved between schools and community sports clubs to establish over 6,000 partnerships between schools and local sports clubs by 2017, and £48.5 million will be invested in the creation of hundreds of new 'satellite clubs', which aim to bridge the gap between school and community sports clubs.
	In addition, the Places, People, Play mass participation legacy programme is investing £150 million in programmes designed to drive up participation in sport. Community clubs are benefitting from the £65 million 'Inspired' grants for 732 smaller-scale local club facilities projects, and the 'Club Leaders' initiative is providing free training and support to those volunteers who deal with the day to day running of community sports clubs.

Sports: Public Participation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the number of people under 16 years old who engage in competitive sport at least once a week.

Hugh Robertson: Using data from the Department's Taking Part Child Survey, we estimate that in 2011-12, 80% of five to 15-year-old children had participated in competitive sport in the last 12 months. Over three quarters (77%) had taken part in competitive sport in school, while 37% had taken part outside of school. Weekly participation in competitive sport by children is not measured.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Arab Partnership

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what expenditure his Department has incurred in respect of Arab Partnership programmes since April 2012.

Alistair Burt: Between the start of April and end of October 2012, spend by the FCO-led Arab Partnership Participation Fund (APPF) was £3,782,070.84. This covered 36 projects in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, occupied Palestinian territories, Syria, Iraq, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Yemen. Just under £10 million is allocated for further APPF project work for this financial year.

Bangladesh

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the recent incident off the Bangladeshi coast where more than 50 illegal immigrants are thought to have perished on their way to Malaysia; and what representations he has made to his international counterparts to ensure that the risk of similar incidents occurring is minimised.

Alistair Burt: I have heard from open sources about a recent tragic incident. These indicate that the boat was transporting over 100 economic migrants to Malaysia. We understand some of these were members of the Burmese Rohingya community.
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the right hon. Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), held a meeting with the Prime Minister of Bangladesh in July and covered a broad range of issues, including human rights and Rohingyas.
	The British Government is committed to Bangladesh’s development and ambition of achieving middle income status within the next decade. By 2015, our aid programme will help to lift 1.5 million people out of extreme poverty, improve access to clean drinking water for 1.3 million people and adequate sanitation for 2.8 million, give more children a better quality education, improve family planning and reduce deaths in childbirth, and develop technical skills for more young women and men seeking employment.

Catering

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department has spent on refreshments since May 2010.

David Lidington: Details are held, however, of the net amount spent on refreshments/hospitality with the contracted catering supplier (Compass) in the UK. Figures for this are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
			 May 2010 to March 2011 114,225 
			 April 2011 to March 2012 160,479 
			 April 2012 to date (November 2012) 97,336 
		
	
	The total spend in the last two full financial years 2010-12 (£295,012) is 36% of the comparable spend in the two financial years 2008-10 (£810,853).
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office undertakes a wide range of activities to establish and maintain contacts throughout its network of over 250 overseas posts as well as diplomatic activity in the UK to promote and defend British interests. Any such spending is undertaken for business reasons, and expenditure on business hospitality is kept under rigorous scrutiny to ensure value for money and effectiveness and is incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity, Propriety and Value for Money.

Crimes of Violence: Females

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to which countries he plans to deploy teams of experts as part of his Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative; and what the (a) proposed timetable and (b) planned duration of those deployments is.

Mark Simmonds: The UK Team of Experts is now 70 strong. We are currently in the process of assessing where it will deploy. To identify and prioritise deployments we have conducted country level assessments and consultations in: Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Mali, Colombia, Guatemala and Sri Lanka. These assessments have examined the extent and impact of sexual violence, the national and international response to date and the particular role the UK can play in reinforcing or complementing existing efforts.
	Each team-deployment will be tailored to local needs and circumstances.
	Each deployment will vary in duration.

Crimes of Violence: Females

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for International Development on the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative; and what the nature of such discussions has been.

Mark Simmonds: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has regularly discussed the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative with his Department for International Development (DFID) counterpart. From its launch in May, it has been developed in close collaboration with DFID. This has included the secondment of a senior DFID Policy Advisor to join the Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) team; close working on assessments between FCO and DFID staff at country levels; and regular update meetings between the Violence Against Women and Girls Team and the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative Team.

Crimes of Violence: Females

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to ensure that the empowerment of women is the focus of the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative; and in what way the design of the initiative will ensure it contributes to women's empowerment.

Mark Simmonds: A major FCO initiative on preventing sexual violence has been developed in co-ordination with the Department for International Development teams that work on Women Peace and Security and Violence Against Women and Girls respectively. The Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) interventions will, where appropriate, support and complement these other programmes and ensure that women's empowerment remains a key principle of the overall approach. Sexual violence, however, does not only affect women. While women are often the majority of survivors of sexual violence in conflict, there is strong evidence that men, and children (of both sexes) also suffer considerably. We will ensure that PSVI will complement efforts to support women's empowerment programmes but also to work where appropriate with men and boys.

Dalai Lama

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 5 November 2012, Official Report, column 454W, on Dalai Lama, what the content was of the advice given to Ministers (a) before and (b) during His Holiness the Dalai Lama's visits during 2012.

Hugo Swire: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office advised Ministers that the best approach to the visit of the Dalai Lama was of predictability, consistency and principle.

Developing Countries: Females

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what funding his Department provides in (a) Afghanistan, (b) Liberia, (c) Nepal, (d) Pakistan and (e) Sierra Leone to support women's rights and participation in peacebuilding.

Mark Simmonds: The British Government provides a wide range of funding to support women's rights and participation in peacebuilding to non-government organisations, bilaterally to other states and through multilateral organisations such as UN Women. In 2011-12 the Conflict Pool, managed jointly by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), the Department for International Development and the Ministry of Defence, disbursed £193 million in support of its priority areas including building free, transparent and inclusive political systems and effective and accountable security and justice.
	The FCO also contributes to wider civil society projects which support women's rights and participation in peacebuilding. In Afghanistan we support women's rights and participation in a variety of ways, including through Conflict Pool contributions. This year a contribution of £500,000 will be made to both the Afghan Parliamentary Assistance Programme and the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. In Nepal, FCO funding to a UN Development Programme multi-donor project will strengthen the capacity of the National Human Rights Commission to help develop a responsive and accessible justice system to promote gender equality, social inclusion and rule of law including through formal and informal processes.
	We have several small scale projects which impact both Liberia and Sierra Leone, and include some element of increasing women's participation. The British high commission in Freetown is currently providing £65,000 to five separate projects encouraging participation of all citizens, including women, in the Sierra Leone elections scheduled to take place on 17 November.
	The FCO also manages a human rights and democracy fund which includes a target of combating discrimination against women. Through the Human Rights and Democracy Programme Fund we are supporting a £60,000 project that seeks to enhance the capacity of Pakistani journalists to produce balanced and gender sensitive reporting on women's issues.

Egypt

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the incidence of anti-Semitism in Egypt; what recent discussions he has had with the government of Egypt on that issue; what response was received; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Alistair Burt: We are not aware of any specific reports of recent incidences of anti-Semitism in Egypt, though we have been made aware of Israeli protests following reported remarks of Muslim Brotherhood Spiritual Guide Mohammed Badie of an anti-Semitic character.
	We remain concerned about minority rights in general, and raise these concerns with the Egyptian Government. Most recently, in his meeting with President Mursi on 26 September, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of ensuring that the rights of all minorities would be protected. President Mursi emphasized his commitment to building a state with equal rights for all.

Egypt

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the government of Israel on anti-Semitism in Egypt; what response was received; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Alistair Burt: We maintain a close dialogue with Israel. Most recently, on 1 November, the Permanent Under-Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office hosted the fourth annual UK-Israel Strategic Dialogue with a high-level Israeli delegation, which included discussion of Egypt.
	Israeli officials in Tel Aviv have raised concerns with us about anti-Semitism in Egypt. We have made clear that anti-Semitism is unacceptable wherever it occurs.
	Foreign Office Ministers have been clear throughout events in Egypt since the revolution that the freedom of religious belief needs to be protected and that the ability to worship in peace is a vital component of a democratic society. We continue to urge the Egyptian authorities to promote religious tolerance and revisit policies which discriminate against anyone on the basis of their religion.

Egypt

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the US administration about anti-Semitism in Egypt; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Alistair Burt: The UK and the US share a common interest in the protection of religious minority rights in Egypt. UK and US officials have discussed recent anti-Semitic comments in this context.

Nigeria

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps officials in his Department are taking to protect Christian communities in Nigeria with particular reference to the area of Jos; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Simmonds: The British Government is committed to working with the Nigerian authorities and civil society to improve security for all Nigerian citizens. Christian and Muslim communities in particular have suffered great losses from ongoing violence. Our acting high commissioner met the Nigerian Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs on 5 November and discussed our concerns about insecurity in Nigeria.
	Through our high commission in Abuja and the Department for International Development (DFID) we are supporting the Nigerian authorities in tackling security challenges and promoting peace building and reconciliation projects. DFID has established a Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation programme which includes activities in Plateau state, in particular Jos. These programmes aim to address the causes of grievances that can lead to extremism and terrorism, and support conflict resolution and reconciliation processes.
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office Officials visited the most seriously affected areas of Jos in August to assess the causes of conflict and the security situation. They met representatives of the Christian and Muslin) communities, non government organisations, academics and journalists, as well as government officials. We continue to assess what further action the British Government can take to assist Nigerian authorities and civil society to tackle insecurity.

Nigeria

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Nigerian counterpart on the protection of religious freedom.

Mark Simmonds: Our acting high commissioner in Abuja met senior officials on 5 November at the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and discussed violence in northern Nigeria, much of which we assess is designed to provoke religious division in Nigeria, including for example the most recent attack on 28 October in Kaduna city.
	We regularly call for those responsible to be brought to justice and for the Government of Nigeria to ensure that all Nigerian citizens, regardless of their beliefs, have the safety and protection to live and practice their beliefs as they choose. Through the high commission in Abuja we continue to raise our concerns with the Nigerian Government, at both state and federal level. The permanent secretaries of the Foreign Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development and Ministry of Defence also raised this issue during their recent visit.

Occupied Territories

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations the Government has made to the Government of Israel on prevention of further settlement expansion.

Alistair Burt: We regularly raise our concerns over settlements with the Israel Government, including at the highest levels, most recently with the Prime Minister's office on 24 October and in the course of the UK's Strategic Dialogue with Israel in London on 1 November.
	On 7 November, I issued the following statement commenting on the publication of tenders for 1,213 settlement units in East Jerusalem and 72 in Ariel:
	“I condemn yesterday's provocative decision to advance settlement construction in East Jerusalem and the West Bank through the publication of tenders for 1,285 settlement housing units. The UK has been consistently clear that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law and by altering the situation on the ground are making the two state solution, with Jerusalem as a shared capital, increasingly hard to realise. It is deeply disappointing that the Government of Israel continues to ignore the appeals of the UK and other friends of Israel.”

Occupied Territories

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Israeli government on the destruction of civilian housing in Palestinian Occupied Territory by Israeli armed forces.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), last met Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on 23 July in the margins of the EU-Israel Association Council. The issue of Israeli demolitions was not raised. However, we regularly raise the issue of demolitions with Israeli authorities at senior official and where possible ministerial level.

Occupied Territories

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has received representations from the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has not met with the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD). I saw a delegation from ICAHD on 16 October and discussed the situation in the west bank.

Papua New Guinea

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to promote good governance in Papua New Guinea.

Hugo Swire: Through our bilateral support to Papua New Guinea (PNG) and our support through international organisations, including the Commonwealth, we continue to support efforts to strengthen governance in Papua New Guinea. In support of PNG’s recent elections, our high commission in Port Moresby worked closely with the Commonwealth Secretariat’s election monitoring mission and supported their report on the elections, including the recommendations for change. When I met Foreign Minister Pato in September, I encouraged PNG to continue to work with the Commonwealth Secretariat on constitutional reform. The UK Government also funded the PNG Election Commission Media Centre to assist in the swift and transparent distribution of election results.
	Our high commission in Port Moresby is also working to increase awareness of the need to prevent corruption. They, and Transparency International, helped to set up the Business Against Corruption Alliance which encourages businesses to play their part in tackling corruption. Our high commission in Port Moresby also funded a workshop on the implementation of the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

Papua New Guinea

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the rights of indigenous peoples in Papua New Guinea.

Hugo Swire: We continue to call on the Government of Papua New Guinea (PNG) to ratify the UN declaration of rights of indigenous people. Papua New Guinea is a very diverse country and is home to over 800 different local tribes. Traditionally about 95% to 97% of land is owned by the people of PNG and about 3% to 5% for other development or government use. Customary land ownership laws are enshrined in the PNG constitution but common resources such as minerals and water are state-owned by law. As PNGs economy grows, the Government is having to balance land ownership rights with encouraging the development of the mostly rural countryside. The Government set up a system of special agricultural business leases (SABLs) to free up forested customary land for agricultural development, but these were beset by allegations that landowners were duped into relinquishing customary rights and that the Government failed to ensure that landowners benefited and developers were held accountable. There is currently a moratorium on SABLs and a review report is expected soon. Our high commission is monitoring the situation and will raise the recommendations of the SABLs report with the Government.

Papua New Guinea

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Papua New Guinea counterpart on the human rights situation in Papua New Guinea.

Hugo Swire: During a meeting I had with Foreign Minister Pato in New York September this year I raised the importance of constitutional reform as a key way of improving the human rights situation in Papua New Guinea.
	Through our high commission in Port Moresby, we also regularly raise human rights issues with the Papua New Guinea Government, including the recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women.

Syria

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the United Nations on the reinstatement of a monitoring mission to Syria.

Alistair Burt: As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), said in his response to the hon. Member for Motherwell and Wishaw (Mr Roy) on 30 October 2012, Official Report, column 144, there are no current plans to resume a UN monitoring mission. The previous mission found it impossible to do their job because the Syrian regime did not keep its word and fighting continued.
	We support the UN-Arab League Special Representative Brahimi's efforts to bring about an end to violence and implement the Geneva Communiqué and continue to work for a diplomatic solution to: alleviate suffering inside Syria; to support opposition groups on the ground; and to urge Russia and China to work with us to end the violence and support political transition.

Syria

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the present rate of defections from the Syrian army; and what steps the international community can take to encourage and facilitate further such defections.

Alistair Burt: The lack of independent reporting from Syria makes it difficult to assess the present rate of desertions from the Syrian military and to know how many are defecting to the ranks of the opposition. However we have reports that there have been significant numbers, including senior military figures. In addition, a number of senior diplomats, Government Ministers and influential businessmen have courageously turned their back on President Assad.
	The UK is at the forefront of international efforts to encourage those who support Assad to step away from him. We do this including through EU sanctions targeted against those who continue to support Assad and his brutal methods.

Syria

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to his Russian and Chinese counterparts concerning their respective positions on Syria.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), with his EU colleagues discussed Syria with the Russian Foreign Minister on 14 October in Luxembourg. The Secretary of State discussed Syria with the Chinese Foreign Minister ahead of the UN Security Council meeting on 19 July and with State Councilor Dai Bingguo on 27 July. Officials discuss Syria regularly with their Russian and Chinese counterparts.
	We continue to press Russia and China to back the more decisive UN Security Council action needed to compel all parties in Syria to cease the violence and to work towards a sustainable political solution. We have been deeply disappointed with their decisions to veto three UNSC Resolutions on Syria and made this very clear publicly and privately.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to his Department has been of each year of Operation Herrick.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 25 October 2012
	The net additional cost of operations in Afghanistan is published in the annual report which can be found at:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/AnnualReports/
	These costs are over and above the costs that MOD would incur on a day-to-day basis, such as normal pay, pensions, etc., which would be payable regardless of any overseas operations taking place.
	The costs are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Financial year £ million 
			 2001-02 220 
			 2002-03 310 
			 2003-04 50 
			 2004-05 70 
			 2005-06 200 
			 2006-07 740 
			 2007-08 1,500 
			 2008-09 2,620 
			 2009-10 3,820 
			 2010-11 3,770 
			 Note: Figures are rounded to nearest £10 million. 
		
	
	Figures for 2011-12 will be published in the 2011-12 annual report.

Afghanistan

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times UK forces in Afghanistan have requested permission to patrol with members of the Afghan National Security Forces at company level this year; how many such requests were turned down; and for what reasons such requests were turned down.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 2 November 2012
	UK forces undertake a range of partnered activities with the Afghan National Security Forces which include, but are not limited to, joint patrolling, mentoring, training, visiting and the holding of shuras. All of these activities can involve an element of joint patrolling.
	There is no formal approvals process on either the Afghan or International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) side for the conduct of partnered patrols at whatever level, and due to the sheer numbers involved this would prove difficult to implement. Over the past 12 months Task Force Helmand completed in excess of 47,000 partnered patrols. Such patrols are authorised by commanders on the ground.
	The UK's overall approach to mentoring in Task Force Helmand has been approved by the ISAF Commanding General of Regional Command South-West.

Afghanistan

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the total number of (a) fatalities and (b) serious casualties of Afghanistan and Pakistan civilians resulting from action by (i) UK forces and (ii) other NATO forces in each of the last two years.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 6 November 2012
	The UK and NATO are not involved in any military combat operations in Pakistan.
	We deeply regret all civilian casualties. While we investigate carefully all alleged incidents involving UK forces, the Government do not record total figures for insurgent or civilian casualties in Afghanistan because of the immense difficulty and risks that would be involved in collecting robust data. The UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan released its own most recent report on civilian casualties in July 2012, which recorded a total of 1,145 civilian deaths from 1 January 2012 to 31 June 2012, 80% of which were attributed to anti-government forces, and 10% of which could not be attributed.
	Protecting the Afghan civilian population is a cornerstone of the international security assistance force’s mission, and all British troops undergo comprehensive training on the strict rules of engagement. This contrasts directly with the attitude of the insurgents, who use indiscriminate tactics, including suicide bombs and improvised explosive devices, as well as the deliberate and targeted killing of civilians.

Afghanistan

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes have been made to tactics for (a) dealing with improvised exploded devices in Afghanistan and (b) patrolling in partnership with members of the Afghan National Army.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 6 November 2012
	UK armed forces deployed in Afghanistan constantly review their tactics, techniques and procedures in line with the roles that they are undertaking, the situation on the ground and the latest threat assessments, and lessons identified are reflected back into training for future deployments.
	The most significant recent changes to tactics relevant to improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan have been to reflect the introduction of the Foxhound protected mobility vehicle.
	Combined patrolling is one aspect of our interaction with Afghan national security forces and in response to the recent increase in insider attacks we, NATO and the Afghan Government have undertaken several initiatives to mitigate the risks, including for instance reviewing our national pre-deployment training.
	I cannot, however, be more specific on how we have amended particular tactics to respond to these developments as to do so would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Afghanistan

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many unmanned aerial vehicle strikes have been conducted by the UK since operations commenced in Afghanistan; and what proportion of such strikes were classed as (a) targeted and (b) signature missions in each year for which figures are available.

Andrew Robathan: As of 1 November 2012, 297 Hellfire precision guided missiles and 52 laser guided bombs have been employed by the UK Reaper remotely piloted air system (RPAS) since operations commenced in Afghanistan. Reaper is the only UK RPAS which carries weapons.
	‘Signature missions’ are not a classification recognised by the UK military.
	All strikes are against targets which are positively identified as legitimate military objectives, and attacks are prosecuted in strict accordance with the law of armed conflict.
	Weapons released by remotely piloted air system are done so under the command of a pilot who uses rules of engagement no different to those used for manned UK combat aircraft. The weapons are all precision guided, and every effort is made to ensure the risk of civilian casualties is minimised.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the highest recognised FCO level for (a) native and (b) non-native (i) Pashtun, (ii) Dari and (iii) Farsi soldiers currently serving in Afghanistan.

Andrew Robathan: Language competence of UK armed forces is not assessed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, or against FCO standards (currently the Common European Framework of Reference). UK military linguists are assessed by the Ministry of Defence Language Examinations Board against the NATO Standardisation Agreement 6001 Edition 4.

Animal Experiments

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what reports he has received and what his policy is on Noveprim Ltd, an overseas primate breeding supplier to UK laboratories approved by his Department, killing monkeys for being the wrong size; and if he will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Home Department.
	We received correspondence from the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection on 1 November 2012 about the trade in long-tailed macaques for research from Mauritius. We are considering the points raised in the correspondence and will respond shortly.
	The Home Office has no remit to approve or accredit overseas primate breeding centres. However, currently, the use of any non-human primate under a project licence issued under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 which has been obtained from an overseas source requires prior approval which is given only if the conditions at the breeding centre are acceptable to the Home Office at that time.

Animal Experiments

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to end the import of the offspring of wild-caught monkeys, known as F1 generation, from Mauritius.

James Brokenshire: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Home Department.
	The Government currently has no plans to end the use of F1 generation macaques under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, whether sourced from Mauritius or elsewhere. At present, about two-thirds of macaques used in the United Kingdom under the 1986 Act are the offspring of captive-bred animals (F2 animals). The remainder are F1.
	European directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes sets out dates from which member states must, in due course, ensure that only F2 non-human primates may be used and provides for a feasibility study to be carried out to confirm those dates. Provision is also made in directive 2010/63/EU for an examination of the feasibility of moving towards sourcing non-human primates from self-sustaining colonies.

Army: Germany

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence where troops stationed in Germany will be stationed on return to the UK.

Mark Francois: holding answer 2 November 2012
	Following the announcement of 5 July 2012, Official Report, columns 1085-88, made by the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), on Army 2020, the Ministry of Defence has been developing detailed plans for the military footprint across the UK (including those forces returning from Germany). This work is still ongoing and an announcement will be made in due course.

Gurkhas

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the future of the Brigade of Gurkhas; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), on 5 July 2012, Official Report, column 1085, in which he announced the future structure of the British Army.

Gurkhas

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the situation of Gurkhas seeking to obtain UK citizenship; and whether his Department plans to make any further changes in order to restore citizenship rights for former and active Gurkhas.

Andrew Robathan: Gurkha personnel serving with the British Army are required to remain Nepali citizens during their service. On their retirement, Gurkhas may apply for UK citizenship under Home Office arrangements if they meet the qualifying criteria. These criteria require retired Gurkha personnel to have completed four years service in order to be eligible to apply to settle in the UK. 12 months after gaining settlement in the UK retired Gurkhas may apply for citizenship.

Libya

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 29 October 2012, Official Report, column 30W, on Libya, what munitions were deployed by the Typhoon aircraft flown from (a) the UK and (b) Italy into Libyan airspace during Operation Ellamy.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 2 November 2012
	During Operation Ellamy last year, Typhoon aircraft deployed with a mixture of advanced medium range air-to-air missiles, advanced short range air-to-air missiles and enhanced Paveway II munitions on combat sorties from Italy into Libya. No combat sorties were flown by Typhoon aircraft direct from the UK.

Military Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the ability of the Sentinel R.1 aircraft to provide maritime surveillance capability in rough seas.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence is conducting an investigation into airborne intelligence surveillance targeting acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities, which will be completed by the time of the strategic defence and security review in 2015 and will inform our future maritime surveillance and maritime patrol requirements, including consideration of relevant in-service platforms, such as Sentinel R1. However, I am withholding further information as its disclosure would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Military Exercises

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the results of Exercise Mountain Dragon; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: Exercise Mountain Dragon is the primary output of the Air Battlespace Training Centre (ABTC) at RAF Waddington. The exercise uses demanding and realistic scenarios, drawn directly from the operational theatre, which replicate current procedures, rules of engagement and platform capabilities. This cannot be replicated by live training and makes a vital contribution to preparing forces for deployment.

RAF Waddington

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress his Department has made in using the Air Battlespace Training Centre at RAF Waddington as a training centre for interoperability between services.

Andrew Robathan: The Air Battlespace Training Centre (ABTC), based at RAF Waddington, provides an effective and cost-effective synthetic training environment. By providing land units with an air land integration simulation capability, which includes the range of air and land-based offensive weapon systems available to support the battlefield commander, the ABTC has significantly improved interoperability training between the services prior to deployment on operations.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Business Interests

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department has published guidance on the rules governing its advisers working in private consultancies at the same time.

Gregory Barker: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 22 October 2012, Official Report, column 667W.

Carbon Sequestration

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will publish the criteria by which projects were assessed prior to announcing his shortlist for the Government's carbon capture and storage competition; and whether projects were independently audited.

John Hayes: The criteria by which projects in the Carbon Capture and Storage Competition were assessed are set out in the Invitation to Participate in Discussions (ITPD) documentation. This is available on the Contracts Finder website at:
	http://www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/
	(search CCS Commercialisation).

Carbon Sequestration

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether the date by which projects were due to be completed was a factor in the assessment of projects in respect of the shortlisting process for the Government's carbon capture and storage competition.

John Hayes: In order to be eligible for the competition, projects had to demonstrate the potential to be operational between 2016 and 2020.

Climate Change: USA

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent representations his Department has made to the US Administration on the issue of climate change; by whom and to whom any such representations were made; and what the responses to the representations were.

Gregory Barker: The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), and I most recently met with the United States Special Envoy for Climate Change, Todd Stern, at the Pre-COP Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change in Seoul last month. We discussed prospects for the UN climate change conference in Doha later this month and the issues most important to the UK and the US in this year's talks. This included the process to negotiate the new legally binding agreement, action to enhance effort to reduce CO2 emissions, work to consider country pledges, build the Measurement, Reporting and Verification regime, and the respective positions of other countries in the negotiations.
	This followed my visit to New York in September to represent the UK at the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, chaired by Mike Froman, Assistant to the President of the United States and Deputy National Security Adviser for International Economic Affairs, where similar topics were discussed.

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to his contribution of 24 October 2012, Official Report, column 946, on energy market reform, what plans he has to introduce a trading obligation in the proposed Energy Bill; and if he will make a statement.

John Hayes: Industry has already taken some steps to address the problem of low levels of power market liquidity and in the last year we have seen volumes traded through the day ahead exchanges increase ten-fold. However, forward market liquidity remains a concern.
	Ofgem is leading reforms in this area and is expected to announce its next steps before the end of the year. Given the significance of liquidity in promoting competition and supporting independent market participants the Government will be seeking backstop powers in the Energy Bill to act should Ofgem be unable to secure the progress that is necessary.

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to his contribution of 24 October 2012, Official Report, column 943, on energy market reform, for what reason it was not appropriate to publish proposals on reforming the energy retail market before Ofgem completes its retail market reform.

Gregory Barker: It is important to ensure that the detail of our proposals complements the detail of Ofgem's proposals, this required waiting for the final report from Ofgem.

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to his contribution of 24 October 2012, Official Report, column 943, on energy market reform, which of the proposals made by Ofgem in its retail market review require legislation in order to be implemented.

John Hayes: Ofgem operates within an existing statutory framework set out in legislation which must be fully adhered to in order for changes to licences and market arrangements such as those proposed in the Retail Market Review to be implemented.
	If the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), wished to implement the proposals, additional legislation would be required.

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to his contribution of 24 October 2012, Official Report, column 943, on energy market reform, which consultation he intends to take forward on the energy retail market; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: The Department will publish proposals for consultation this month for legislation to ensure people get the lowest tariffs.

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to his contribution of 24 October 2012, Official Report, column 947, on energy market reform, what the evidential basis is for his statement that energy and renewable subsidies will add £95 to bills by 2020.

John Hayes: In November 2011, DECC published an assessment of the impact of energy and climate change polices on energy prices and bills(1). Tables F1 and F2 set out the impacts of each policy on household energy bills and show that, taken together, those policies supporting low-carbon technologies (Electricity Market Reform (EMR), renewables obligation (RO) and feed-in tariffs (FITs)) are estimated to add, on average, around £95 to household energy bills in 2020.
	This does not include the impact of the reduction in wholesale price resulting from increased low-marginal cost generation.
	(1) Available online at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/meeting_energy/aes/impacts/impacts.aspx

Energy

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to his contribution of 24 October 2012, Official Report, column 947, on energy market reform, what the evidential basis is for his statement that energy bills will fall by £220 by 2020 as a result of energy efficiency improvements.

John Hayes: In November 2011, DECC published an assessment of the impact of energy and climate change polices on average household energy bills(1). Energy efficiency policies affect household energy bills by reducing the amount of energy consumed and increasing the costs per unit of energy through supplier obligations.
	Table 1 as follows sets out the net impacts of each policy on household electricity and gas bills. Taken together, those policies relating to energy efficiency (Green Deal, ECO, Smart Meters, Better Billing, CERT, CERT extension, EEC. CESP, and Products Policy) are estimated, on average, to reduce household energy bills by around £220 in 2020.
	(1) Available online at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/meeting_energy/aes/impacts/impacts.aspx
	
		
			 Table 1: Estimated average impact of energy efficiency policies on household electricity and gas bills (including VAT) 
			 £ (real 2010 prices) 
			  2020 
			 Estimated impact of energy efficiency policies Electricity bill Gas bill Energy bill 
			 Of which:    
			 Green Deal and ECO 9 33 42 
			 Smart Meters -20 -10 -30 
			 CERT and EEC 1&2 -44 -19 -63 
			 CERT Extension -5 -20 -25 
			 CESP -1 0 -1 
			 Better Billing -2 -2 -4 
			 Products Policy -158 17 -141 
			 Total -221 -1 -222 
			 Source: DECC 2011. Figures may not add due to rounding.

Energy Ombudsman

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  how many complaints to the Energy Ombudsman broken down by each participating company in (a) Southend, (b) Essex, (c) England and Wales (i) were upheld, (ii) were rejected, (iii) resulted in a financial award, (iv) resulted in an apology or explanation and (v) resulted in other practical action in (1) 2008, (2) 2009, (3) 2010, (4) 2011 and (5) 2012 to date;
	(2)  how many complaints to the Energy Ombudsman (a) were upheld, (b) were rejected, (c) resulted in a financial award, (d) resulted in an apology or explanation and (e) resulted in other action in (i) 2008, (ii) 2009, (iii) 2010, (iv) 2011 and (v) 2012 to date.

John Hayes: The Ombudsman Service publishes details on the energy complaints they have received in their Annual Energy Reports. They do not, however, publish details on complaints about individual energy companies, or from individual geographical areas.
	In 2011-12, the Ombudsman resolved 6,608 complaints, of which 71% resulted in a financial award along with an apology and/or explanation, and 21% resulted in an apology and/or explanation. In 2010-11, the Ombudsman resolved 5,812 complaints, of which 69% resulted in a financial award with most also receiving an apology and/or explanation. In 2009-10 the Ombudsman resolved 6,419 complaints, of which 73% resulted in a financial award with most also receiving an apology and/or explanation. Data for 2008 was included in 2009, as the Ombudsman Service was established as an approved statutory redress scheme on 1 October 2008.

Energy Ombudsman

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many complaints about electricity companies were referred to the Energy Ombudsman in each of the last three years; how many were (a) accepted and (b) rejected by the Ombudsman; what the 10 most common complaints were; and if he will make a statement.

John Hayes: The Ombudsman Service publishes details on the energy complaints they have received in their Annual Energy Reports. They do not, however, publish data on complaints about electricity companies only. The Ombudsman Service Annual Report for 2011-12 is available at:
	http://www.ombudsman-services.org/downloads/OS%202012%20AR%203-7-12%20for%20web.pdf

Energy Ombudsman

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many complaints about (a) E.On UK plc and (b) UK Power Networks were referred to the Energy Ombudsman in each of the last three years; how many were (i) accepted and (ii) rejected by the Ombudsman; what the 10 most common complaints were; and if he will make a statement.

John Hayes: The Ombudsman Service publishes details on the energy complaints they have received in their Annual Energy Reports. They do not, however, publish data on complaints about individual energy companies. The Ombudsman Service Annual Report for 2011-12 is available at:
	http://www.ombudsman-services.org/downloads/OS%202012%20AR%203-7-12%20for%20web.pdf

Energy: Carbon Emissions

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the oral answer to the hon. Member for Chippenham, of 1 November 2012, Official Report, column 372, on carbon intensity target, what his Department's policy is on the decarbonisation of the power sector by 2030.

John Hayes: The Government is committed to meeting our statutory carbon budgets, as set out in the 2008 Climate Change Act. Analysis published in the December 2011 Carbon Plan suggests that the most cost effective paths to deliver the 2050 target require the electricity sector to be largely decarbonised during the 2030s. The department is currently undertaking further work on the decarbonisation of the power sector. In particular careful consideration is being given to all the recommendations received on the Energy Bill related to the level of grid decarbonisation. Any form of decarbonisation target would need to take account of the need for flexibility in order to minimise costs to the economy. It would also need to take into account how a target specific to the power sector would interact with other objectives (eg our legally binding carbon targets). We will be providing greater clarity on the direction of travel over the coming months.

Energy: Complaints

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many complaints (a) by each type of complaint and (b) from each county his Department has received concerning each gas and electricity company in each of the last three years; what response was made; if he will place in the Library a copy of any standard response given; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: DECC Ministers and officials receive a number of representations about gas and electricity companies. However, individual consumer complaints are dealt with by the energy company itself by following its formal complaint process. If the company fails to offer a satisfactory resolution, domestic and micro business customers can then pursue the matter with the energy ombudsman service. Larger business customers can address complaints by using the legal system.

Energy: Conservation

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the oral answer to the hon. Member for South Suffolk, of 1 November 2012, Official Report, columns 358-9, on energy efficiency, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals on energy efficiency measures.

Gregory Barker: As set out in July 2012, DECC has committed to consult this year on policy proposals aimed at encouraging more efficient use of electricity. A consultation on Electricity Demand Reduction will be published shortly.

Energy: Consumers

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with energy companies on the identification and treatment of vulnerable customers.

Gregory Barker: We are currently working with energy suppliers, the Energy Saving Advice Service (ESAS) and the Department of Work and Pensions to develop a referral mechanism that will operate under the Energy Company Affordable Warmth Obligation. This will help with the identification of eligible customers and support the provision of an agreed minimum package of assistance. We are also promoting the use of data made available under the Warm Home Discount scheme to help identify low income and vulnerable households and provide them with energy efficiency measures.
	Moreover, all the Department's Ministers, as well as officials, regularly meet with energy suppliers to discuss fuel poverty issues.

Energy: Housing

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many properties in each local authority area have benefited from energy efficiency measures through the (a) Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and (b) Community Energy Saving Programme in each year of the scheme.

Gregory Barker: It is estimated that through Government schemes since April 2008 (the start of CERT) there have been 4.5 million lofts insulated, 2.2 million cavity walls insulated and 78,000 solid walls insulated.
	The Department does not hold information on the delivery of measures at a local authority level.
	However, energy suppliers report measures installed through the CERT and CESP schemes on a voluntary basis to the Energy Saving Trust for inclusion in their Homes Energy Efficiency Database (HEED).
	A number of standard reports (including those at local authority level) are available to download from HEED and can be viewed at:
	http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Organisations/Local-delivery/Free-resources-for-local-authorities/Homes-Energy-Efficiency-Database/CERT-reports-from-HEED

Energy: Prices

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the way in which energy companies target financial benefits on vulnerable customers.

Gregory Barker: The Department has been working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions and the six major energy suppliers regarding suppliers' obligations to identify and provide support, including financial benefits to low income and vulnerable customers, through the Warm Home Discount Scheme.
	The core group of the Warm Home Discount scheme provides support to eligible pension credit recipients. Through secure data matching of limited personal data between DWP and participating electricity suppliers, eligible customers receive a discount on their electricity bill. Sharing data in this way means that these customers do not need to take any action to receive the discount, and energy suppliers do not need to make inquiries on individual cases.
	Energy suppliers' compliance with the Warm Home Discount scheme is monitored and enforced by Ofgem. Ofgem has now published its annual report on Warm Home Discount available via:
	http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Sustainability/Environment/WHDS/Documents1/WHD_AR_08_Oct_2012.pdf
	This report demonstrates how Government and energy suppliers worked closely together to deliver a very successful first year of the Warm Home Discount scheme. This co-operation is continuing in year two of the scheme. In 2011-12, over 700,000 discounts of £120 were made to pension credit customers, of which around 600,000 were made automatically. We expect that in 2012-13, over a million pension credit customers will receive a discount of £130.
	Energy suppliers are also required to provide discounts to a broader group of vulnerable customers. Each supplier has its own eligibility criteria which are subject to approval by Ofgem. Over 234,000 households were assisted under this part of the scheme in 2011-12. The Warm Home Discount Regulations 2011 require energy suppliers to put in place verification processes to establish whether their customers are in receipt of the relevant qualifying benefits. These processes are subject to approval by Ofgem. Five of the six participating suppliers are now working with DWP to carry out some elements of this verification process, via secure electronic data transfer, with the customer's consent.
	Suppliers also provide a range of social and discounted tariffs and rebates to low income vulnerable households. In total, over 2 million households were assisted in the first year of the scheme.

Fuel Poverty

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether an obligation is placed on energy companies to speak to charities and public organisations in order to identify vulnerable customers who may benefit from fuel poverty alleviation schemes.

Gregory Barker: DECC does not place obligations on energy companies to engage with community or voluntary organisations in this way. Our policies do, however, create incentives for suppliers work in partnership with voluntary organisations to identify low income and vulnerable consumers. For example, the regulations for the warm home discount scheme provide for close partnership working between energy companies and community and voluntary organisations to help supplier meet their obligations under the industry initiatives part of the scheme.

Fuel Poverty: Northern Ireland

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the level of fuel poverty in Northern Ireland.

Gregory Barker: The most recent estimate was that 302,300 households (44% of the total) in Northern Ireland were fuel poor in 2009.

Gas and Electricity Markets Authority

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  when Ofgem's Consumer Challenge Group last met;
	(2)  what the scheduled date is of Ofgem's Consumer Challenge Group's next meeting;
	(3)  how much funding Ofgem's Consumer Challenge Group received in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012; and what the sources of funding were in each year;
	(4)  what the terms of reference are of Ofgem's Consumer Challenge Group.

Gregory Barker: The information requested are matters for Ofgem. I have asked the Chief Executive of Ofgem to write to the hon. Member and we will place copies of his letters in the Libraries of the House.

Green Deal Scheme

Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions he has had with stakeholders on the inclusion of requirements for Green Deal ancillary works in the Green Deal Code of Practice.

Gregory Barker: The Green Deal Code of Practice is currently being updated to reflect discussions with stakeholders and in order to refine some outstanding requirements. It will be tabled in Parliament shortly. A requirement relating to ancillary works is one we are looking to include in the updated version of the code.

Green Deal Scheme

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which cities have bid for part of the £12 million green deal pilot funding announced by his Department on 21 September 2012.

Gregory Barker: The Green Deal funding competition announced on 21 September was open to all members of the Core Cities group comprising the largest English metropolitan areas outside London: Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield.
	To date, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield have submitted successful bids. The Department is currently in discussion with Liverpool regarding their plans to test key elements of the Green Deal.

National Grid

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of National Grid's commitment to introduce an audit clause in all aggregator framework agreements and aggregator contracts.

John Hayes: National Grid is responsible for keeping the system in balance, including the procurement of balancing services under the terms of its transmission licence. The Department has therefore not made an assessment of National Grid's commitment to introduce an audit clause in all aggregator framework agreements and aggregator contracts.

National Grid

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of National Grid's commitment to audit all aggregator contracts within two years.

John Hayes: National Grid is responsible for keeping the system in balance, including the procurement of balancing services under the terms of its transmission licence. The Department has therefore not made an assessment of National Grid's commitment to audit all aggregator contracts within two years.

Power Failures

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what guidance his Department issues to energy companies about restoring power to households experiencing power supply failure; and if he will make a statement.

John Hayes: Ofgem regulates the owners of the electricity distribution networks through price controls, and places certain licence conditions on these companies.
	At an individual customer level, statutory instrument 698 of 2010, known as “The Electricity (Standards of Performance) Regulations 2010”, sets out service levels that must be met by each distribution company, in 12 key areas. These include supply restoration, notification of customers, and the investigation of voltage quality issues. The standards have been set in order to guarantee a level of service that it is reasonable to expect companies to deliver in all cases.
	If the distribution company fails to meet the level of service required, it must make a payment to the customer, subject to certain exemptions.
	In addition, Ofgem has specifically designed an incentive scheme (known as the “Interruptions Incentive Scheme” (IIS)) to encourage companies to restore supplies to customers as quickly and safely as possible. The IIS is the main financial incentive to ensure that electricity distribution network operators (DNOs) manage the number and duration of supply interruptions on their networks effectively.

Power Failures

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what requirements there are for energy companies which do not restore power supply to households experiencing power supply failure within an acceptable period; and if he will make a statement.

John Hayes: Ofgem regulates the owners of the electricity distribution networks through price controls and places certain licence conditions on these companies.
	At an individual customer level, statutory instrument 698 of 2010, known as “The Electricity (Standards of Performance) Regulations 2010”, sets out service levels that must be met by each distribution company, in 12 key areas. These include supply restoration, notification of customers, and the investigation of voltage quality issues. The standards have been set in order to guarantee a level of service that it is reasonable to expect companies to deliver in all cases.
	If the distribution company fails to meet the level of service required, it must make a payment to the customer, subject to certain exemptions. Payments under the guaranteed standards compensate for the inconvenience caused by loss of supply. They are not designed to compensate customers for subsequent financial loss. Ofgem monitors and enforces the guaranteed standards relating to quality of supply.

Power Failures

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households in (a) Southend, (b) Southend West constituency, (c) Essex and (d) England and Wales suffering electricity supply failure were provided with an alternative source of power by UK Power Networks in the latest period for which figures are available; and what the average time taken to reconnect power supplies was.

John Hayes: DECC does not collect data on whether or not households are offered alternative sources of power by their electricity network operator in the event of supply failures, nor does it collect data on the time taken to restore supplies when disruptions occur.
	All electricity network operators are set targets by the industry regulator, Ofgem, to reduce both the number and duration of power cuts. If they fail to meet these targets there is a financial penalty on their allowed income. In addition to this the network operators are required to meet guaranteed standards of performance; some of these standards relate to the number and duration of the power cuts. If a network operator fails to meet these standards a fixed level of compensation can be claimed by the consumer.
	My hon. Friend will wish to note that UK Power Networks are the distribution network operators (DNO) for the Eastern, London and South Eastern licence areas and are not responsible for electricity supply failures that occur in other parts of England and Wales.
	Details of the guaranteed standards and compensation are available on the Ofgem website at:
	www.ofgem.gov.uk

Power Failures

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many complaints his Department has received about electricity supply failure in each year since 2010; what response was given in each case; if he will place in the Library a copy of any standard reply given; and if he will make a statement.

John Hayes: The Department has received 13 letters related to electricity supply failure since 2010. The responses did not follow a standard reply and copies will be placed in the Library with the personal information redacted.

Power Failures

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households in Southend West constituency experienced electricity supply failure (a) in 2011 and (b) in 2012 to date; and what steps were taken to restore supply in each case.

John Hayes: DECC collects data for supply interruptions that are reportable under the Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations (ESQCR) 2002. Electricity transmission and distribution companies have a statutory duty to report certain interruptions to supply under Regulation 32 of the ESQCR, as follows:
	Interruptions of 20 MW or more for three minutes or longer.
	Interruptions of 5 MW or more for one hour or longer.
	Interruptions of 5,000 consumers or more for one hour or longer.
	DECC has not received any reports of electricity supply interruptions affecting the Southend West constituency in 2011, or to date in 2012, that meet the reporting requirements of ESQCR.

Power Failures

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what information his Department holds on the number of households which experienced electricity supply failure for over 12 hours in the latest period for which figures are available; what the cause was in each case; and if he will make a statement.

John Hayes: DECC collects data for supply interruptions that are reportable under the Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations (ESQCR) 2002. Electricity transmission and distribution companies have a statutory duty to report certain interruptions to supply under Regulation 32 of the ESQCR, as follows:
	Interruptions of 20 MW or more for three minutes or longer.
	Interruptions of 5 MW or more for one hour or longer.
	Interruptions of 5,000 consumers or more for one hour or longer.
	DECC has received four reports of electricity supply interruptions lasting for over 12 hours across GB between April 2011 and October 2012 that meet the reporting requirements of ESQCR. Three of these incidents were due to equipment failure and one due to damage to overhead powerlines caused by a falling tree in high winds. Taken together, these four interruptions saw 67,504 consumers disrupted, though many would have been restored within a few hours, our records show that some consumers were without electricity for 12 hours or longer. Our records are unable to identify the exact number of consumers who were without electricity for over 12 hours.

Power Failures

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will estimate the total value of financial losses to households affected by electricity supply failure in each of the last two years for which information is available.

John Hayes: DECC does not hold information on the value of financial losses to households who are affected by electricity supply failures.

Power Failures

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many cases involving power supply loss the Energy Ombudsman dealt with in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

John Hayes: The Ombudsman Service publishes details on the energy complaints they have received in their Annual Energy Reports. They do not, however, publish data on complaints involving power supply loss. The Ombudsman Service Annual Report for 2011-12 is available at:
	http://www.ombudsman-services.org/downloads/OS%202012%20AR%203-7-12%20for%20web.pdf

Visits Abroad

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when a Minister in his Department last visited (a) China, (b) the US, (c) Brazil, (d) Mexico and (e) South Africa; and when a Minister in his Department next intends to visit those countries.

Gregory Barker: I have visited the US twice in 2012, most recently to New York in September to represent the UK at the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate. This followed leading a low carbon business delegation to Houston, San Antonio and Atlanta in May 2012, while also visiting New York and Washington DC.
	The previous Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), and I last visited South Africa for the UN climate change conference in Durban at the end of 2011. We also visited Mexico for the conference in Cancun a year earlier.
	The previous Secretary of State last visited China in September 2011 for the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum.
	There have been no DECC ministerial visits to Brazil under this Government.
	The Department is yet to finalise its plans for 2013 travel, but there are no plans to visit these countries in the remainder of 2012. Lists of all previous ministerial visits are available on the DECC website at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/accesstoinform/registers/overseas/overseas.aspx

Wind Power: Finance

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  how much was paid in constraint payments to wind farms in 2011;
	(2)  what the average price per megawatt hour was paid for wind farms not to generate electricity.

John Hayes: The Department does not hold the breakdown of constraint payments by type of technology. Constraint payments arise from actions taken by National Grid (in its role as System Operator) to resolve bottlenecks on the electricity transmission system. This is a competitive market, with the details of most such payments published at
	www.elexon.co.uk
	and
	www.bmreports.com

Wind Power: Finance

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many megawatt hours were constrained in 2011.

John Hayes: National Grid (in its role as System Operator) has to take actions to constrain electricity generation from a range of different generation technologies at particular times to resolve bottlenecks on the electricity transmission system. This is delivered through a competitive market. The details of these actions are published at:
	http://www.nationalgrid.com/uk/Electricity/Balancing/Summary/
	These actions led to a total of 3,325,554 megawatt hours being constrained off in calendar year 2011.

EDUCATION

Catering

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department has spent on refreshments since May 2010.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department's finance system does not hold the information at this level of detail. Obtaining this information would incur disproportionate costs.

Children: Day Care

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of parents in England who designate (a) themselves, (b) a non-paid friend or relative, (c) a childminder, (d) a personal nanny and (e) a nursery or daycare centre as their main provider of child care during working hours.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department’s Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents is the main source of national estimates on this topic. The survey does not include estimates for the main provider of child care during parents’ working hours. It may be helpful to see that it does include estimates for use of child care during a term time reference week by type of child care and family work status (see table 1). The survey also presents estimates for child care use by more detailed provider categories (e.g. childminder) but this information is not broken down by family work status (see table 2). These figures relate to 2010. The equivalent figures for 2011 will be published on the Department website early next year.
	
		
			 Table 1: Parents of children aged 0-14 saying that they use child care during a term time reference week by type of child care and family work status, 2010 
			 Percentage 
			 Family work status Any child care Formal child care Informal child care 
			 Couple    
			 Both working 76 60 33 
			 One working 54 44 15 
			 Neither working 39 31 9 
			     
			 Lone parent    
			 Working 75 53 44 
			 Not working 55 38 25 
			 Note: The sum of ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ child care percentages can be different to the use of ‘any’ child care percentage because a proportion of parents report the use of both formal and informal child care. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Parents of children aged 0-14 saying that they use child care during a term time reference week by specific type of child care provider, 2010 
			 Type of child care and provider Percentage 
			 Any child care 78 
			   
			 Formal providers 63 
			 Nursery school 5 
			 Nursery class attached to a primary or infants’ school 4 
			 Reception class(1) 10 
			 Special day school/ nursery/ unit for children with SEN — 
			 Day nursery 8 
			 Playgroup or pre-school 6 
			 Other nursery education provider — 
			 Breakfast club 4 
			 After-school club 35 
			 Childminder 5 
			 Nanny or au pair 1 
			 Babysitter who came to home 1 
			   
			 Informal providers 38 
			 Ex-partner 5 
			 Grandparent 24 
			 Older sibling 4 
			 Another relative 5 
			 Friend or neighbour 7 
			   
			 Other(2)  
			 Leisure/sport 5 
			 Other child care provider 2 
			   
			 No child care used 22 
			 (1) The data on the use of reception classes should be treated with caution, as there may be under and over-reporting of the use of this type of child care. The potential under-reporting concerns four-year-olds, whose parents may not have considered reception classes a type of child care, even if their four-year-olds were attending school (hence likely to be in reception). (2) The use of other types of child care counts towards any child care but not towards formal or informal provision. Notes: 1. The sum of ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ child care percentages can be different to the use of ‘any’ child care percentage because a proportion of parents report the use of both formal and informal child care. 2. Percentages of less than 1% are indicated by a “—” in the table.

Early Intervention Grant: Cumbria

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much was allocated to Cumbria through the early intervention grant in the last five financial years to date; and how much has been allocated for 2013-14.

Elizabeth Truss: The Early Intervention Grant (EIG) was established in April 2011, and EIG allocations are not available before this date.
	Cumbria local authority was allocated £18,420,351 in 2011-12 and £20,067,275 in 2012-13. The Early Intervention Grant—along with a number of other central Government grants—will become part of the new local government funding scheme (the business rates retention scheme) in 2013-14. The EIG allocation for local authorities will be visible within the business rates retention scheme in 2013-14 and 2014-15. The 2013-14 allocations have not been finalised. An indicative allocation of £14,647,409 was published on the Department of Communities and Local Government's website to accompany their technical consultation on the Business Rates Retention. The 2013-14 allocation will be confirmed later in the year, following the Local Government Finance Settlement.

Educational Institutions: Staff

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what information his Department holds on the total number of employees of (a) schools and colleges and (b) organisations providing services under contract to schools and colleges paid less than (i) £7.20 per hour outside London and (ii) £8.30 per hour in London.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 2 November 2012
	The information requested is not available in the format requested for schools and is not collected by the Department with respect to colleges of further education.
	Teachers in all maintained schools in England and Wales must be paid according to the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) which specifies the minimum starting salary for qualified and unqualified teachers. The minimum starting salary for an unqualified teacher working outside London is £15,817—which is the equivalent of £12.50 per hour. Qualified teachers are paid a higher rate. Their minimum starting salary (outside London) is £21,588 which is the equivalent of £17.06 per hour. Academies are not bound by the STPCD and are free to set their own pay and conditions if they so wish—although those that have transferred from the maintained sector under TUPE agreements are entitled to remain on STPCD rates.
	Where teachers are employed through an organisation providing services under contract to schools then the agency worker regulations apply (which came into force on 1 October 2011). Private agencies are able to set their own rates of pay for the first 12 weeks of a teacher's assignment. However, if the assignment is longer than 12 weeks with the same employer the agency has to pay the same rates as if the teacher was employed directly by a school or local authority (i.e. following the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document).
	Central Government does not have a role in making decisions on the pay and conditions of school support staff. These matters are decided by the employer of those staff. For support staff in community and voluntary schools, the employer is the local authority. For support staff employed in foundation and voluntary aided schools, the employer is the school's governing body and in academies the employer is the academy trust. The Department for Communities and Local Government has responsibility for staff employed by local authorities.
	Statistics are routinely published on the pay received by full-time qualified teachers in England. The latest data, from the November 2011 School Workforce Census, show the average salary of the 355,400 full-time qualified teachers (including classroom and leadership group teachers) to be £37,900. Of these, 25% (87,400) are paid between £21,588 (the minimum) and £30,000.
	Statistics on the pay of unqualified teachers and school support staff are not readily available. Providing these data would incur disproportionate cost and only represent a proportion of the work force in these roles.

GCSE

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of pupils who did not have a statement of special educational needs did not achieve an A* to C grade in (a) English, (b) mathematics and (c) either English or mathematics GCSE in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  in which mainstream schools fewer than (a) 50 per cent., (b) 60 per cent. and (c) 70 per cent. of pupils with no statement of special educational needs achieved A* to C in GCSE (i) English, (ii) mathematics and (iii) either English or mathematics in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(3)  in which mainstream schools fewer than (a) 50 per cent., (b) 60 per cent. and (c) 70 per cent. of pupils with no statement of special educational needs achieved five A* to C grades, including English and mathematics but excluding equivalents at GCSE in each local authority in the latest period for which figures are available.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 31 October 2012
	The information requested for 2011 is given in (a) the following table, and (b) a list of schools with the requested indicators which has been placed in the House Libraries. Information has been given for state-funded mainstream schools only (including academies and free schools) as information on special educational needs (SEN) is not collected at pupil level for independent (not state-funded) schools. Information for 2012 is not yet available—it will be published in late January 2013.
	
		
			 National performance of pupils (1)  with no statements of special educational needs (2 ) attaining A* to C in English and/or mathematics at the end of Key Stage 4, Year: 2010/11 (Final), Coverage: England (state-funded mainstream schools only) 
			  Number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 with no statement of SEN Percentage of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 with no statement of SEN 
			 Total number of pupils 545,610 — 
			 Of which:   
			 Did not achieve A* to C in English 156,085 28.6 
			 Did not achieve A* to C in mathematics 178,977 32.8 
			 Did not achieve A* to C in either English or mathematics 120,248 22.0 
			 (1) Includes attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years. (2) Pupils with no statement of SEN include: School Action, School Action+, no identified SEN and unclassified pupils. Source: 2011 Secondary School Performance Tables data (post-errata).

GCSE

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education at which schools fewer than (a) 30 and (b) 50 per cent. of pupils who did not have a statement of special educational needs and were not eligible for free school meals, achieved five GCSEs at grade A* to C, including English and mathematics but excluding equivalents, in the most recent year for which figures are available, by local authority area.

Elizabeth Truss: The information requested for 2011 is given in a list of schools with the requested indicators which has been placed in the House Libraries. Information has been given for state-funded mainstream schools only (including academies and free schools) as information on special educational needs (SEN) or free school meals (FSM) eligibility is not collected at pupil level for independent (not state-funded) schools. Information for 2012 is not yet available—it will be published in late January 2013.

Health Education: Sex

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to the Government's action plan on violence against women and girls, what progress he has made in realising the Government's commitment to encourage the teaching of sexual consent as part of the school curriculum; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: Sexual consent is an important issue and my Department is committed to making the cross-government Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Action Plan as powerful and effective as possible.
	We encourage all schools to address the topic of sexual consent in Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education. When teaching sex education and related issues, schools must have regard to the Secretary of State's Guidance on Sex and Relationship Education.
	The document makes clear that schools should ensure young people develop positive values and a moral framework that will guide their decisions, judgments and behaviour. Specifically, all young people should understand how the law applies to sexual relationships.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the annualised cost of the special advisers and policy advisers in his Department in the (a) last and (b) current financial year.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 6 November 2012
	Salary information for the special advisers is available on the Cabinet Office website at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/special-adviser-data-releases
	The Department publishes information on senior staff salaries on its website:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/departmentalinformation/transparency/expenditure/expen12/b0065313/disclosure-of-scs-posts-and-salary-information
	Salary information for staff below senior civil service band 2 (director level) is not published.

Mobile Phones

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which companies supply (a) mobile telephones and (b) mobile data services to his Department.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education has a contract with Vodafone Ltd for the provision of mobile voice and data telecommunications services, the provision of mobile devices is included within the scope of this contract.

National Curriculum Tests

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of pupils who did not have a statement of special educational needs were not entered for (a) English, (b) mathematics and (c)  either English or mathematics Key Stage 4 examinations in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 1 November 2012
	The information requested for 2011 is given in the following table. Information has been given for state-funded mainstream schools only (including academies and free schools) as information on special educational needs (SEN) is not collected at pupil level for independent (not state-funded) schools. Information for 2012 is not yet available—it will be published in late January 2013.
	
		
			 National information for pupils (1)  with no statements of special educational needs (2 ) not attempting GCSE English or mathematics at the end of Key Stage 4. Year: 2010/11 (Final) .  Coverage: England (state-funded mainstream schools only) 
			  Number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 with no statement of SEN Percentage of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 with no statement of SEN 
			 Total number of pupils 545,610 — 
			 Of which:   
			 Did not attempt GCSE English 7,308 1.3 
			 Did not attempt GCSE mathematics 4,367 0.8 
			 Did not attempt either GCSE English or mathematics 3,409 0.6 
			 (1) Includes attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years. (2) Pupils with no statement of SEN include; School Action, School Action+, no identified SEN and unclassified pupils. Source: 2011 Secondary School Performance Tables data (post-errata)

Public Appointments

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many appointments made to the boards of public bodies overseen by his Department have been (a) male and (b) female since May 2010.

Elizabeth Truss: 20 men and 15 women have been appointed since May 2010.

Schools: ICT

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to integrate the use of new technologies into schools.

Elizabeth Truss: The Government encourages schools to take good advantage of opportunities presented by digital technologies to improve teaching and raise educational standards. The Department is reforming the national curriculum to give a stronger emphasis on computer science within the ICT curriculum. Teachers should use their professional judgment to decide how best to use new technologies to teach their pupils across the curriculum.
	The Department for Education is investing a total of £3.75 million over the period 2011-13 in the VITAL programme to fund professional development opportunities and resources for teachers in the effective use of ICT and technology. We are also funding teaching schools to support other schools in the effective use of technology and help them develop and improve their practice.

Schools: Standards

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each decile of deprivation did not meet the Government's floor targets in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Elizabeth Truss: The information requested is provided in the following tables:
	
		
			 Key stage 2: Number and percentage of schools (1)  in each decile of deprivation (2)  that are below the floor target (3) , 2011 
			  Number of schools eligible for assessment against the floor Number of schools not meeting the KS2 floor target Percentage (4) 
			 0% to 10% (most deprived) 1,433 268 19 
			 10% to 20% 1,323 226 17 
			 20% to 30% 1,301 200 15 
			 30% to 40% 1,277 172 13 
			 40% to 50% 1,338 134 10 
			 50% to 60% 1,372 113 8 
			 60% to 70% 1,338 84 6 
			 70% to 80% 1,414 46 3 
			 80% to 90% 1,381 44 3 
		
	
	
		
			 90% to 100% (least deprived) 1,173 23 2 
			 Total 13,350 1,310 10 
			 (1) Mainstream maintained schools in the key stage 2 performance tables with greater than 10 pupils in the key stage 2 cohort and performance tables data for all three measures against which the floor standard is assessed (see footnote 3). (2) Based on Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI). Each super output area (similar sized groups of households across the country with a minimum population of 1,000) in England is given a score which ranks it between one and 32,482, one being the most deprived. IDACI band is based on the IDACI rank of school postcode. Pupils attending the school may not live in the same area. (3) In 2011 the floor standard was: at least 60% of pupils at the end of key stage 2 (KS2) achieving level 4 or above in English and maths; and national average or above for % of pupils at the end of KS2 making expected progress in English (national median = 87%); and national average or above for % of pupils at the end of KS2 making expected progress in maths (national median = 86%). Primary schools failing to reach all three thresholds were assessed as being below the floor standard. (4) Number of schools below the floor target in each area as a percentage of the number of schools assessed against the floor target in each area. Source: Performance Tables. 
		
	
	
		
			 Key stage 4: Number and percentage of schools (1)  in each decile of deprivation (2 ) that are below the floor target (3) , 2011 
			  Number of schools eligible for assessment against the floor Number of schools not meeting the KS4 floor target Percentage (4) 
			 0% to 10% (most deprived) 243 27 11 
			 10% to 20% 251 19 8 
			 20% to 30% 301 14 5 
			 30% to 40% 342 11 3 
			 40% to 50% 325 9 3 
			 50% to 60% 286 5 2 
			 60% to 70% 328 7 2 
			 70% to 80% 291 6 2 
			 80% to 90% 287 7 2 
			 90% to 100% (least deprived) 305 2 1 
			 Total 2,959 107 4 
			 (1) Mainstream maintained schools in the key stage 4 performance tables with greater than 10 pupils in the key stage 4 cohort and performance tables data for all three measures against which the floor standard is assessed (see footnote 3). (2) Based on Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI). Each super output area (similar sized groups of households across the country with a minimum population of 1,000) in England is given a score which ranks it between one and 32,482, one being the most deprived. IDACI band is based on the IDACI rank of school postcode. Pupils attending the school may not live in the same area. (3 )In 2011 the floor standard was: at least 35% of pupils at the end of key stage 4 achieving five or more GCSEs A*-C (or equivalents) including English and maths GCSE; and national average or above for % of pupils at the end of KS4 making expected progress in English (national median = 72% for 2010, 74% for 2011); and national average or above for % of pupils at the end of KS4 making expected progress in maths (national median = 65% for 2010, 66% for 2011). Secondary schools failing to reach all three thresholds were assessed as being below the floor standard. (4) Number of schools below the floor target in each area as a percentage of the number of schools assessed against the floor target in each area. Source: Performance Tables.

Sick Leave

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education on how many days on average staff of his Department in each pay grade were absent from work as a result of ill health in each of the last 12 months.

Elizabeth Truss: The requested figures are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Department for Education sickness absence for the period October 2011 to September 2012 
			 Grade Average number of working days lost per member of staff 
			 Executive Assistant (EA) 10.3 
			 Executive Officer (EO) 6.9 
			 Higher Executive Officer (HEO) 5.4 
			 Senior Executive Officer (SEO) 4.5 
			 Grade 7 3.0 
			 Grade 6 2.0 
			 Senior Civil Servants (SCS) 2.5 
			 All staff 4.8

Sick Leave

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education for how many and what proportion of days, on average, staff of his Department at each pay grade were absent from work as a result of ill health in each of the last five years.

Elizabeth Truss: Information for the Department for the last five years is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Sickness absence report March 2008 to September 2012 
			   EA EO HEO SEO G7 G6 SCS 
			 March 2008 Total number of days 6,117.2 5,178.9 4,445.6 2,552.2 1,272.2 239.9 215.3 
			  Average working days lost 19.3 11.7 9.7 7.6 3.7 2.2 2.6 
			          
			 March 2009 Total number of days 4,674.8 5,627 4,717.2 3,296.4 2,035.8 375.9 321.1 
		
	
	
		
			  Average working days lost 15.2 11.5 8.1 6.7 4.1 2.1 2.8 
			          
			 March 2010 Total number of days 3,497 449.2 4,878 3,414 1,569 498 168 
			  Average working days lost 11.9 8.9 7.5 6.5 3 2.7 1.3 
			          
			 March 2011 Total number of days 2,928 3,762.2 3,726.8 2,633.3 1,350.5 422.5 223.5 
			  Average working days lost 13.6 8 6.4 5.4 2.9 2.7 1.9 
			          
			 March 2012 Total number of days 2,240 3,161,3 2,985.1 2,276.3 1,672.9 313.5 360.2 
			  Average working days lost 11.78 7.1 4.6 4.3 2.9 1.7 2.9 
			          
			 June 2012 Total number of days. 2,274 4,249.4 4,049.7 4,126.4 2,387.8 487.4 301.9 
			  Average working days lost 9 6.5 5 4.7 2.9 1.3 1.6 
			 Note: Total number of days is determined by numbers in post.

Staff

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on (a) recruitment agency fees, (b) outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff and (c) staff training in each of the last 12 months.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department and its agencies has spent the following on staff training and recruitment agency fees:
	
		
			 £ 
			  Recruitment agency fees Staff training 
			 October 2011 7,487.50 161,541 
			 November 2011 4,492.50 205,268 
			 December 2011 2,995 145,256 
			 January 2012 — 144,307 
			 February 2012 — 205,614 
			 March 2012 6,000 577,600 
			 April 2012 — 7,392 
			 May 2012 — 62,366 
			 June 2012 — 9,579 
			 July 2012 6,000 127,590 
			 August 2012 — 57,769 
			 September 2012 — 107,455 
			 Total (1)40,366 1,811,737 
			 (1) The agency fee costs incurred for a campaign which was jointly funded by the Department for Health cannot be split from the overall cost which also includes the cost of advertising and psychometric testing. The total cost to the Department for that campaign was £13,391. This cost is included in the total above but not in the monthly costs. 
		
	
	There have been no cost in the last 12 months for outplacement agency fees.

Surveys

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has conducted an engagement index survey for staff working in his Department in autumn 2012; and if he will publish the results of any such survey.

Elizabeth Truss: holding answer 6 November 2012
	The Department for Education is participating in the 2012 Cabinet Office People Survey, which will provide an engagement index score for the Department. The survey was open from 1 to 31 October 2012. The Department will receive the departmental level results of the survey from the Cabinet Office at 1 pm on Thursday 15 November. These results will be made available to all staff. In line with Cabinet Office guidelines, the results will also be published on the external departmental website by Tuesday 31 January 2013. In addition, the Cabinet Office will publish the results on their own website and:
	www.data.gov.uk
	on Wednesday 1 February 2013.

Truancy: Kent

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the truancy rate was for (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in (i) Gillingham and Rainham constituency and (ii) Medway in the latest period for which figures are available.

Elizabeth Truss: The closest measure we have to assess truancy rates is the unauthorised absence rate. This includes family holidays taken during term time but not agreed by the head teacher, late arrival at school, and any absence that is not authorised.
	Information on unauthorised absence in the autumn term 2011 and spring term 2012 is shown in the following table.
	This information is published in the ‘Pupil Absence in schools in England: Autumn Term 2011 and Spring Term 2012’ Statistical First Release at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001090/index.shtml
	The latest data for the full school year are published as Statistical First Release 04/2012 ‘Pupil Absence in Schools in England, Including Pupil Characteristics: 2010/11; at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s001060/index.shtml
	The ‘Pupil Absence in Schools in England, Including Pupil Characteristics: 2011/12’ Statistical First Release will be published in March 2013.
	
		
			 State-funded primary and state-funded secondary schools (1,2,3)  unauthorised absence rates (4)  autumn term 2011 and spring term 2012, England, Medway local authority and Gillingham and Rainham parliamentary constituency 
			  England Medway local authority Gillingham and Rainham constituency 
			 State-funded primary schools 0.6 0.6 0.5 
			 State-funded secondary schools 1.3 1.5 1.4 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies, including free schools. (3) Includes city technology colleges and secondary academies, including free schools. (4) The number of sessions missed due to unauthorised absence expressed as a percentage of the total number of possible sessions. Source: School Census

CABINET OFFICE

Big Lottery Fund

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the (a) income and (b) expenditure of the Big Lottery Fund in (i) 2013-14, (ii) 2014-15 and (iii) 2015-16; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the (a) income and (b) expenditure of the Big Lottery Fund was in (i) 2010-11 and (ii) 2011-12; what it is expected to be in 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: The income and expenditure for the Big Lottery Fund for 2010-11 and 2011-12 is available in the Big Lottery Fund's annual reports:
	www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/index/about-uk/corporatedocs.htm
	Figures for 2012-13 will be published in due course.

Cabinet Committees

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  on how many occasions the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure, chaired by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, has met since 29 November 2011;
	(2)  how many times the Growth Committee, sub-committee of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has met since its inception; and what the membership of the sub-committee is.

Nick Hurd: holding answer 5 November 2012
	The written ministerial statement of 30 October 2012, Official Report, column 8WS, by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), announced an updated Cabinet Committee list. Copies are available in the Library of the House.
	In line with the practice of previous Governments, information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees is generally not disclosed.

Charities: Religion

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office for what reasons the presumption that religion is of public benefit is not a consideration of the Charity Commission when considering the charitable status of religious groups.

Nick Hurd: The Charities Act 2006 made it clear that no particular purpose is to be presumed to be for the public benefit.

Cobra

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many times COBR met in the last three months; and what the reasons were for each such meeting.

Nick Hurd: The Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (COBR) have been activated on a number of occasions in the past three months, including co-ordinating the response to Ash Tree dieback. In line with the practice of previous administrations, specific information on the frequency and content of Cabinet Committee and other ministerial meetings is not routinely disclosed.

Government Departments: ICT

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to the answer of 19 April 2012, Official Report, column 555W, on departmental standards, what his Department's definition of open standard is; and what measures are in place to promote the use of open standards in information technology within Government.

Nick Hurd: The Government's definition of open standards for software interoperability, data and document formats is publicly available on the Cabinet Office website in our Open Standards Principles, published on 1 November:
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/openstandards
	A copy of the Open Standards Principles is available in the Library of the House.

Kidneys: Diseases

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many cases of infant mortality in east Lancashire have been due to polycystic kidney disease in the last five years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2012
	.
	In England and Wales, deaths occurring in infants aged under 28 days are registered using a special perinatal death certificate which enables reporting of all relevant diseases or conditions in both the infant and the mother. It is not possible to determine a single underlying cause of death from this certificate. Accordingly, Table 1 provides figures for all infant deaths where polycystic kidney disease was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of infant deaths in east Lancashire where polycystic kidney disease was mentioned on the death certificate, 2006-10 (1, 2, 3) 
			  Number of infant deaths 
			 2006 0 
			 2007 1 
			 2008 1 
			 2009 0 
			 2010 0 
			 (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases. Tenth Revision (ICD-10). Deaths were included where polycystic kidney disease ICD codes Q61.1-Q61.3 were mentioned on the death certificate, not necessarily as the underlying cause of death. (2) Figures are based on deaths occurring in each calendar year. (3) Infant deaths defined as deaths occurring under a year after live birth. Source: Office for National Statistics.

Members: Correspondence

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he expects to answer the letter from the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion of 11 July 2012, on closure of the Joint Sustainability Forum.

Nick Hurd: The Cabinet Office responded to the hon. Member on 8 November 2012.

New Businesses: Hastings

Amber Rudd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many small and medium-sized enterprises were set up in (a) Hastings local authority area and (b) Hastings and Rye constituency in each year since 2005-06.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many small and medium sized enterprises were set up in (a) Hastings local authority area and (b) Hastings and Rye constituency in each year since 2005-06.
	Annual statistics on the number of enterprise births are available from 2004 onwards in the ONS release on Business Demography at:
	www.statistics.gov.uk
	The following table contains the latest statistics available.
	
		
			 Count of enterprise births by employment size band in the Hastings local authority area and the Hastings and Rye constituency from 2005-10 
			  Hastings local authority area Hastings and Rye constituency 
			  Small 0-49 Medium 50-249 Small 0-49 Medium 50-249 
			 2005 295 0 365 0 
			 2006 295 0 365 0 
			 2007 285 0 385 0 
		
	
	
		
			 2008 265 0 315 0 
			 2009 285 0 335 0 
			 2010 240 0 315 0 
			 Note: The above figures have been rounded to the nearest 5 to avoid disclosure, for example, some years with one or two enterprise births would be rounded to zero.

Plymouth Brethren

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office for what reasons charitable status was removed from the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Charity Commission. I have asked the commission’s chief executive to reply.
	Letter from Sam Younger, dated 7 November 2012
	I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question, for what reasons charitable status was removed from the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church.
	The trust in question applied for registration and was turned down. It has lodged an appeal against our decision and the outcome of the appeal is awaited.

Voluntary Work: Young People

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the cost was of the National Citizen Service (NCS) scheme per participant in each of the years the NCS has been running.

Nick Hurd: Evaluation of the 2011 pilots showed that the unit costs per commissioned place was £1,303 to the Government and £1,553 in total.
	The 2012 pilots are still under way. The next independent evaluation report will include further information.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Convention On International Interests in Mobile Equipment

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 24 April 2012, Official Report, column 816W, on aviation: treaties, if he will publish the Government response to the call for evidence concerning the ratification of the Cape Town Convention.

Jo Swinson: The then Minister of State for Business and Enterprise, the hon. Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr Prisk), confirmed at the Farnborough Airshow in July that the Government was committed to ratifying the Cape Town Convention. However, he explained that we needed to do more work with business, following the Call for Evidence, to clarify the costs and benefits involved. Most of this work has been done and the Government response will be published in early 2013.

Enterprise Act 2002

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on how many occasions the provisions of section 42 of the Enterprise Act 2002 have been invoked since the section entered into force; and on what date each such intervention was made.

Jo Swinson: Section 42 allows the Secretary of State to intervene in public interest mergers on the basis of national security, media plurality and financial stability of the UK. There have been four public interest intervention notices issued under section 42 since the legislation came into force. They occurred on:
	
		
			  Public interest intervention notices 
			 17 August 2005 Lockheed Martin's acquisition of Insys 
			 26 February 2007 BSkyB's acquisition of 17.9% share holding in ITV 
			 18 September 2008 Merger of HBOS and Lloyds TSB 
			 2 August 2012 Merger of Guardian Media Group Radio and Global Radio 
		
	
	In addition, there have been five European intervention notices (issued under section 67) and one special intervention notice (issued under section 59).

Foreign Companies

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will introduce a public interest test for the acquisition of UK companies by foreign-owned firms based on the industrial strategic importance of the company.

Jo Swinson: In his independent report “No Stone Unturned: in pursuit of growth”, Lord Heseltine recommended that Government should
	‘signal a greater readiness to use existing powers in the Enterprise Act 2002 to allow ministers to consider takeovers and mergers to ensure our long term industrial capabilities are given proper consideration’.
	The Government is committed to open markets and will consider Lord Heseltine's proposals very carefully as part of its response to his report.

Insolvency: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many company insolvencies there were in each sector in Scotland in each of the last five years.

Jo Swinson: Company insolvencies in Scotland by industry sector for 2010 and 2011 are provided in Table 1 as follows. Figures for earlier years are not available on a consistent basis, or for all types of corporate insolvency in Scotland.
	
		
			 Table 1: Liquidations and other corporate insolvencies by sector in Scotland for 2010 and 2011 
			  2010 2011 
			  Total liquidations Other corporate insolvencies Total liquidations Other corporate insolvencies 
			 Agriculture, Hunting and Forestry 2 0 7 3 
			 Fishing 1 2 1 0 
			 Mining and Quarrying 4 1 9 2 
			 Manufacturing 98 34 73 23 
			 Electricity, Gas and Water Supply 1 1 2 0 
			 Construction 217 53 265 54 
			 Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles, Motor Cycles, and personal and household goods 93 11 122 17 
			 Hotels and Restaurants 111 15 134 15 
			 Transport, Storage and Communication 50 11 41 2 
			 Financial Intermediation 10 1 8 6 
			 Real Estate, Renting and Business Activities 349 154 449 145 
			 Public Administration and Defence; Compulsory Social Security 0 0 0 0 
			 Education 5 1 4 0 
			 Health and Social Work 5 2 10 5 
			 Other Community, Social and Personal Service Activities 43 6 46 11 
			 Private Households Employing Staff and Undifferentiated Production Activities of Households for Own Use 0 0 0 0 
			 Extra-Territorial Organisations and Bodies 0 0 0 0 
			 All others 52 7 66 10 
			 Total 1,041 299 1,237 293

New Businesses: Young People

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many loans have been made through the Start Up Loans scheme from the inception of that scheme.

Michael Fallon: holding answer 29 October 2012
	The start-up loans scheme has granted 43 loans to young entrepreneurs as of Thursday 25 October, with a further 46 applications being assessed.
	Our projection remains that between 2,500-2,800 loans will have been agreed by end of the pilot stage of the programme in March 2013.

Surveys

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills by what date he expects to publish the Civil Service People Survey 2012 results for his Department.

Jo Swinson: We expect to publish the results of the Department's People Survey 2012 by the end of January 2013 in accordance with Cabinet Office guidelines.

HEALTH

Botulism

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many confirmed cases of botulism have been reported in (a) children and (b) adults in each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry: Data on the number of cases of the three main forms of botulism, food borne, wound botulism and infant botulism are presented in the following tables. The data have been supplied by the Health Protection Agency. Data for 2012 are not available. Data for adults with food borne botulism are available on a United Kingdom basis. For infant botulism and wound botulism the available data are for England and Wales only.
	
		
			 Laboratory-confirmed cases of botulism (wound botulism in people who inject drugs) 
			 England and Wales 
			  Number 
			 2007 3 
			 2008 4 
			 2009 20 
			 2010 3 
			 2011 0 
		
	
	
		
			 England and Wales l aboratory-confirmed cases of botulism in adults (food borne botulism) 
			 UK 
			  Number 
			 2007 0 
			 2008 1 
			 2009 0 
			 2010 1 
			 2011 3 
		
	
	
		
			 England and Wales  l aboratory-confirmed cases of  botulism in children (i nfant botulism ) 
			 England and Wales 
			  Number 
			 2007 2 
			 2008 — 
			 2009 2 
			 2010 1 
			 2011 2 
			 Note: Data for 2012 are not available.

Cardiovascular System

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when he expects his Cardiovascular Outcomes Strategy to be published;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to ensure that atrial fibrillation is included in his Cardiovascular Outcomes Strategy;
	(3)  what steps he plans to take to ensure that the recommendations of the Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes Strategy are implemented as swiftly as possible upon publication.

Anna Soubry: The aim is to publish the Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes strategy within 2012-13. The issue of atrial fibrillation is being considered as part of the development of the strategy.
	As the strategy's recommendations are yet to be formulated, it is not possible to set out how they will be implemented. However, we envisage that each part of the delivery system responsible for the care of people with cardiovascular disease will play a part in implementing the strategy's recommendations.

Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia

Stephen Metcalfe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total NHS expenditure on congenital diaphragmatic hernia was in each of the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: The information requested is not available as national health service expenditure on congenital diaphragmatic hernia is not separately reported to the Department.

Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many cases of congenital diaphragmatic hernia there have been in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to help prevent congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

Daniel Poulter: There are no known interventions to prevent congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). This condition is specified in the list of structural abnormalities that are included in the anomaly screening scan at 20 weeks that is offered to all women during antenatal care. The numbers of finished admission episodes for CDH in each of the last five years are shown in the table.
	
		
			 Count of finished admission episodes (1)  with a primary diagnosis of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (2)  for 2007-08 to 2011-12 (3) , activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			  Finished admission episodes 
			 2007-08 218 
			 2008-09 250 
			 2009-10 294 
			 2010-11 269 
			 2011-12 260 
			 (1) A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients; as a person may have more than one admission within the year. (2) The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. ICD-10 code used: Q79.0 Congenital diaphragmatic hernia. (3) HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in out-patient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia

Stephen Metcalfe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the level of research conducted by (a) his Department and (b) other bodies in respect of congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

Daniel Poulter: The Department is not currently funding any research on congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including CDH. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the scientific quality of the proposals made.
	The NIHR Clinical Research Network recently hosted a study of how care affects the future health prospects of infants with CDH.
	The Medical Research Council (MRC) is funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and is one of the main agencies through which the Government supports medical and clinical research. The MRC currently spends approximately £60 million per year on research related to child health, which includes research into congenital disorders. The MRC is currently supporting one research project in this area.
	The MRC has not made any assessment of the level of funding for research in the area of CDH, although the MRC has funded research in this area.

Dentistry

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 September 2012, Official Report, column 427W, on dentistry, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that all graduates from UK dental schools will be offered a DFT1 place in 2013-14; and what assessment he has made of the statement by the Committee of Postgraduate Deans and Directors that UK students will be competing for places. [R]

Daniel Poulter: Recruitment to dental foundation training is managed by the Committee of Postgraduate Deans and Directors (COPDEND) working in partnership with the London Dental Deanery. The aim is to match the number of places available with forecast number of graduates from dental schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
	Dental school graduates apply for these places through a transparent competitive recruitment process. Any graduates who fail to find a place immediately on graduating are encouraged to apply to join subsequent recruitment rounds.

Diabetes: Musculoskeletal Disorders

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of co-morbidities between diabetes and musculoskeletal health conditions;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the effect on care planning of co-morbidities between diabetes and musculoskeletal health.

Norman Lamb: The Department is aware of evidence that people with diabetes are at higher risk of a number of musculoskeletal conditions, including osteoarthritis, osteomyelitis, and bone fractures. Care planning for people with long-term conditions needs to take account of co-morbidities such as those between diabetes and musculoskeletal health. The care planning process should be managed locally, through the national health service, with health care professionals working in partnership with patients. The Department has published extensive guidance for commissioners, health care and social care professionals, on the care planning approach, including an e-learning toolkit issued in 2010.

Food Poisoning

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many confirmed cases of food poisoning from reheated rice have been reported in adults in each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry: We are advised by the Food Standards Agency which has responsibility for food borne disease that between 2007 to 2011 there have been 52 cases in adults aged 16 years and over of food poisoning in England and Wales associated with rice-based foods. The following data represent confirmed cases of food poisoning in outbreaks attributed to rice-based food vehicles, and it is only possible to list rice-associated cases not those from reheated rice specifically.
	
		
			 Laboratory-confirmed cases of food poisoning in adults (16 years and over) associated with rice-based foods 
			 England and Wales (1) 
			 2007 0 
			 2008 0 
			 2009 16 
			 2010 7 
			 2011 29 
			 (1) No data are currently available for 2012. Source: Health Protection Agency.

Gender Recognition: Mental Health Services

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the NHS requires trans people to undergo a mandatory two year period of psychiatric assessment; what assessment he has made of the compatibility of NHS practice on psychiatric assessment of trans people with the best practice identified on page 16 of the European Commission's report of June 2011 on Trans and intersex people: discrimination on the grounds of sex, gender identity and gender expression; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: Protocols for care pathways for gender reassignment treatment are established locally and therefore vary, but there is not a mandatory two-year period of psychiatric treatment.
	Commonly, assessment takes place over at least two appointments, usually with two separate clinicians, effectively forming two parts of a whole. Typically, there is an intervening gap between initial appointments. This allows for reflection and, if appropriate, consolidation of a social gender role change, interpretation of the results of blood, and other investigations. Ideally, there should be no more than four months between the first two appointments.
	However, it is not for the Department to determine the precise length of treatment, which is a clinical decision based on the expertise of all the professionals involved.
	No assessment has been made of the European Commission's report, Trans and intersex people: discrimination on the grounds of sex, gender identity and gender expression.
	NHS mental health services currently use ICD-10 (the International Classification of Diseases) referred to in the report. The ICD is developed and produced by the World Health Organization (WHO) which is the directing and coordinating authority on health within the United Nations. The WHO is currently working on a revised version of the ICD which will be known as ICD11. Individual governments have very limited influence over this.

Health Services

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations his Department has received on national commissioning arrangements for conditions with patient populations of fewer that 500; what recent assessment he has made of specialised commissioning; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: Officials in the Department's Specialised Services Policy Team have received a number of representations on national commissioning arrangements for conditions with patient populations of fewer than 500. These have been in the form of letters and parliamentary questions about the future commissioning arrangements for specialised services; specific drugs for the treatment of rare conditions; advisory mechanisms and on the provision of paediatric extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.
	From 1 April 2013, the NHS Commissioning Board will be responsible for the direct commissioning of highly specialised services for people with very rare conditions. Officials in the Department are working very closely with the NHS Commissioning Board to ensure a smooth transition to the new arrangements.

Health Services

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he had with the National Specialised Commissioning Team on the commissioning of highly specialised services in the NHS.

Anna Soubry: There have been no discussions between Ministers in the Department and the National Specialised Commissioning Team (NSCT) on the commissioning of highly specialised services in the national health service. As part of ongoing business there is regular contact between the NSCT, the Department's policy team for specialised services and the NHS Commissioning Board. The Commissioning Board will be responsible for commissioning specialised services from 1 April 2013.

Health Services: Plymouth

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress the procurement department at NHS Plymouth has made in identifying savings in medicine supplies and the procurement of goods and equipment.

Daniel Poulter: This information is not collected centrally.
	We understand that NHS Plymouth does not have a procurement department as this function is carried out by Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust on NHS Plymouth’s behalf. I would advise my hon. Friend to contact the trust direct for this information.

Heart Diseases

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to promote the use across England of the Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation tool developed by NHS Improvement.

Anna Soubry: NHS Improvement is working with the national health service to drive the roll-out of the Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention in AF (GRASP-AF) tool to help ensure that those patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation are receiving appropriate treatment. So far, 2,276 general practitioner practices (28% of practices in England) have used the GRASP-AF tool.

Infectious Diseases

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to combat tropical diseases in the UK.

Anna Soubry: Tropical diseases are contracted by individuals abroad and are not endogenous in the United Kingdom. The Department publishes information for travellers on how to avoid infections from tropical diseases, including information on relevant vaccinations. Monitoring and diagnosis of infections from returning travellers is carried out by the Health Protection Agency.

Information Officers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many press officers his Department employs.

Daniel Poulter: Currently, the Department's media centre employs 29 full-time equivalent press officers and one part-time equivalent press officer, equating to 29.63 full-time equivalent press officers.
	Further details about the Department's press officers and the specialist desks on which they work can be viewed on the Department's website:
	http://mediacentre.dh.gov.uk/about/

Mental Health Services

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  for what reasons the Care Quality Commission stopped conducting the patient survey for mental health in-patients;
	(2)  if his Department will reinstate the patient survey for mental health in-patients to ensure parity between physical and mental health.

Norman Lamb: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) mental health in-patient survey was discontinued because of fundamental methodological issues with the survey. Sample sizes were too small and the very low response rates made it difficult to take any meaningful or reliable data from this survey.
	As well as conducting formal national surveys, the NHS Operating Framework for 2012-13 states that organisations providing national health service funded care, including mental health in-patient care, must actively seek out, respond positively and improve services in line with patient feedback. This includes acting on complaints, patient comments, local surveys and results from “real time” data techniques. Commissioners of these services can also request additional surveys, where they are appropriate.
	The CQC continues to conduct a national survey of patients who receive care or treatment for a mental health condition from community mental health services.
	As a further measure to improve services in line with patient feedback, the NHS will be introducing the Friends and Family Test. This is a simple, single question asking patients about their experience of care. It is being introduced for acute in-patients and accident and emergency services by April 2013 as announced by the Prime Minister last May, and for all people using NHS services, including mental health in-patients, as soon as possible.

Musculoskeletal Disorders

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of musculoskeletal conditions on (a) levels of public health, (b) the economy and (c) society.

Norman Lamb: The Department is aware of the very extensive literature on the impact of musculoskeletal conditions on individuals, on the economy and on society. An analysis by the Department's economists of data from the 2006 Health Survey for England showed that almost half of the loss of quality of life for people with longer term conditions was due to musculoskeletal disease. Information from the Labour Force Survey for 2011-12 shows that musculoskeletal disease is responsible for about a third of the number of cases of work-related illness and over a quarter of the total number of working days lost due to illness or accident. One analysis suggests that the annual indirect economic cost of arthritis to the economy, including the value of the lost work from those affected and their carers, could be as high as £14.8 billion.
	The Government's reforms to the health care and public health systems for England make Public Health England responsible for promoting those evidence-based interventions—for instance, better diet and exercise—which will help to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disease. The NHS Commissioning Board will be accountable for improving services for people with existing disease. Local clinical commissioning groups, informed by guidance from the board and from authoritative sources such as the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), will be responsible for commissioning clinical pathways integrating the contributions of primary, secondary and tertiary care. NICE Quality Standards will set out the standards of care which patients can expect for the major musculoskeletal conditions.

NHS: Expenditure

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 5 November 2012, Official Report, column 470W, on NHS: expenditure, for what reason the information is not held by the department.

Anna Soubry: The information requested is a matter for the national health service. The National Specialised Commissioning Team (NSCT) commission specialised services on a national basis on behalf of the strategic health authorities. The NSCT is hosted by NHS London and therefore expenditure is included in the accounts for NHS London.

NHS: Sick Pay

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will urge (a) North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust and (b) South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to follow nationally-negotiated conditions in respect of enhanced sick pay.

Daniel Poulter: This is a matter for the national health service locally. Trusts, including North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, have the freedom to determine terms and conditions, including pay, for the staff they employ.

Older People: Domestic Accidents

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to ensure that older people injured in a fall are visited by a falls prevention team;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to increase awareness of the availability of advice and the commissioning of services that can help prevent falls by older people.

Norman Lamb: The Department has a range of policy levers and commissioning guidance in place to help reduce the numbers of falls in older age. This includes a falls and bone health commissioning toolkit, a “blue book” from clinical leaders to showcase best practice, and a National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence quality standard on falls. Next year, this will be backed by indicators in the Public Health Outcomes Framework, which will measure the number of fall-related admissions to hospital. The indicators will strengthen the evidence base in this area, and help commissioners drive local improvements. There is also comprehensive information for the public on falls and falls prevention available on the NHS Choices website:
	www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Falls/Pages/Introduction.aspx
	Housing is also a good way of preventing falls—either by making the homes we build more age friendly and safe, or by making minor aids, equipment and adaptations more available. Over the next five years, the Department will invest up to £300 million in specialised housing to help ensure a greater number of older people are supported to live independently in their own homes. The Department is also investing £745 million in aids and adaptations, through the disabled facilities grant, which are crucial to help people stay independent for as long as possible.

Passive Smoking: Children

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of children who have been exposed to second-hand smoke whilst travelling in cars in England in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of children exposed to second-hand smoke in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012.

Anna Soubry: Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England in 2010 provides information on the percentage of 11 to 15-year-olds reporting that they were exposed to other people’s smoke in a range of locations.
	Around a quarter (26%) reported that they were exposed to second-hand smoke at home, 32% in other people’s homes, 19% in cars, 8% somewhere else inside and 34% somewhere else outside.
	Information for 2011 and 2012 is not available. Detailed smoking-related questions are only asked every second year. 2012 survey data is expected in the summer of 2013. Information is only available for those aged 11 to 15.
	“Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England in 2010” has been placed in the Library and is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/sdd10fullreport

Pregnancy: Counselling

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on the decision not to proceed with his Department's planned consultation on pregnancy counselling.

Anna Soubry: The Department has received a number of representations about the decision not to proceed with a consultation on pregnancy options counselling. I also held a meeting on 5 November with Lord Alton, Lady O'Loan, my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce), Lord Brenna and Dan Boucher at which pregnancy options counselling was discussed.
	The Government believes that the best way to meet the commitment to improve counselling services for women is to look at wider issues on preventing unwanted pregnancies and consider counselling requirements in this context. We will therefore set out our plans for improving counselling in our sexual health policy document which we aim to publish before the end of the year.

Pregnancy: Counselling

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent in preparation for its planned consultation on pregnancy counselling.

Anna Soubry: The Department incurred costs in respect of travel and subsistence expenses for officials' visits to organisations currently providing pregnancy counselling services. In addition the work of a number of Departmental staff was reprioritised to focus on the development of proposals on pregnancy counselling, but we have not separately identified costs associated with this work.

Pregnancy: Counselling

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what dates meetings took place in preparation for his Department's planned consultation on pregnancy counselling.

Anna Soubry: Departmental Ministers attended a number of meetings at which pregnancy options counselling was discussed. These meetings included meetings of the cross-party group of hon. Members set up by the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Guildford (Anne Milton), which met on 2 December 2011, 12 December 2011, 18 January 2012 and 20 February 2012. The former Minister also had meetings with officials on 28 March and 26 June 2012.

Salmonella

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the savings to the NHS arising from the salmonella vaccination of chicken eggs over the last five years.

Anna Soubry: Vaccination of chickens is one of a number of measures that play a part in the control and reduction of salmonella. Other measures include action in Europe, the establishment of a laying hens Salmonella National Control Programme, the elimination of salmonella enteritidis in layer breeders, date stamping of eggs, the placement of egg restrictions the introduction of recent legislation requiring the replacement of conventional cages and preventative steps taken by responsible food business operators (such as rodent control).
	It is not possible to quantify the effect of the individual elements, as there are several contributory factors. However, data from the salmonella baseline survey demonstrate a lower risk of salmonella (particularly salmonella enteritidis) in vaccinated flocks both in United Kingdom and Europe as a whole.
	In terms of the number of human cases of salmonellosis there has been an ongoing downward trend since 2000. While this reduction cannot be directly attributed to any particular control measures, it does represent an estimated reduction in national health service costs for the UK from £7.5 million in 2000 to £4.3 million in 2011(1). Over the past five years (2007 to 2011) the cumulative reduction is equivalent to £13 million.
	(1) Based on 2010 quarter one prices

Salmonella

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many confirmed cases of salmonella have been reported in children in each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry: The data on confirmed cases of salmonella reported in children (15 years and under) over the last five years can be found in the following table and have been a supplied by the Health Protection Agency. The figures reported are for England and Wales only.
	
		
			 Laboratory-confirmed cases of salmonella in children (15 years and under) 
			  England and Wales (1) 
			 2007 3,478 
		
	
	
		
			 2008 3,119 
			 2009 3,258 
			 2010 2,613 
			 2011 2,722 
			 (1) Cases include travel associated infections and typhoidal salmonella

Salmonella

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of salmonella have originated from eating (a) contaminated chicken eggs, (b) undercooked chicken and (c) contaminated duck eggs in each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry: We are advised by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), which has responsibility for foodborne disease, that individual (sporadic) cases of salmonella infection rarely provide sufficient evidence to enable an epidemiological investigation to be undertaken to identify their cause. For this reason individual cases are not routinely investigated or traced to identify the source and whether food was responsible.
	In order to demonstrate that cases of laboratory confirmed salmonella infection are due to eating contaminated chicken eggs, undercooked chicken or contaminated duck eggs, it is necessary to conduct epidemiological and/or microbiological investigations which can provide the required scientific evidence of association. This is only usually possible for cases linked to recognised outbreaks of infection, which involve two or more cases affecting individuals from more than one household.
	The tables show the number of laboratory confirmed cases of salmonellosis, as part of reported outbreaks of infection in the England and Wales between 2007 and 2012, where investigations showed that infection was transmitted through the consumption of chicken meat, chicken eggs and duck eggs.
	
		
			 Laboratory confirmed cases of salmonella from outbreaks associated with the consumption of chicken eggs in England and Wales 
			  Number 
			 2007 64 
			 2008 13 
			 2009 502 
			 2010 0 
			 2011 275 
		
	
	
		
			 Laboratory confirmed cases of salmonella from outbreaks associated with the consumption of chicken meat in England and Wales 
			  Number 
			 2007 45 
			 2008 22 
			 2009 127 
			 2010 0 
			 2011 9 
		
	
	
		
			 Laboratory confirmed cases of salmonella from outbreaks associated with the consumption of duck eggs in England and Wales 
			  Number 
			 2007 0 
			 2008 0 
			 2009 0 
			 2010 81 
		
	
	
		
			 2011 0 
			 Source: Health Protection Agency 
		
	
	Data for 2012 is not available.
	The tables do not include outbreaks in which eggs and chicken may potentially have been a component part of the final food vehicle, e.g. if eggs or chicken was a component part of a meal.
	The Health Protection Agency Scotland is only able to provide figures which are linked to specific sources of infection as part of an outbreak. The Health Protection Agency Scotland reports that there were no laboratory confirmed cases of salmonella from outbreaks in Scotland associated with the consumption of chicken meat and duck eggs between 2007 and 2011. There were four cases of salmonella in outbreaks associated in eggs in Scotland in 2009 where eggs were one of more than one food vehicle reported in the outbreak. It should be noted that outbreak investigation did not specify the type of eggs which were consumed by these cases. There were no other salmonella cases in outbreaks associated with eggs in Scotland for 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011.
	The Public Health Agency Northern Ireland confirmed that data are not available for Northern Ireland.

Smallpox: Vaccination

Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 22 October 2012, Official Report, columns 667-8W, on smallpox: vaccination, what estimate he has made of the number of vaccinated personnel who (a) continue to be employed in relevant NHS posts and (b) are available to deal with an initial suspected or confirmed case of smallpox.

Anna Soubry: The Department does not hold this level of information as this changes regularly with staff moving within the national health service and changing employment. Information is held by the relevant Occupational Health departments in NHS trusts.

Social Work

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether his Department sought advice from the Department for Education before the decision was taken to appoint two chief social workers;
	(2)  what the reasons were for the decision to appoint two chief social workers; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what steps he plans to take to ensure the two chief social workers will work together to provide a strong voice for social work.

Norman Lamb: The Department of Health and the Department for Education have worked jointly to appoint a chief social worker and are in complete agreement that Government should seek to appoint two chief social workers.
	We sought to appoint a chief social worker earlier this year but no suitable candidate was found. A significant reason for being unable to fill the post was the scope of the role covering both adults’ and children's social work. Candidates who were initially considered to be strong withdrew during the process as they had doubts as to whether they could fulfil the post’s responsibilities spanning both children's and adults' social work. Both Departments considered a series of options in going for the recruitment and considered the appointment of two chief social workers, working from one Office of the Chief Social Worker, the most appropriate way forward in filling this key role.
	The Secretary of State for Health, the right hon. Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), and the Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), are both absolutely committed to the two chief social workers working together to provide a strong voice for social work, to promote good practice and challenge bad practices. Their job descriptions will share many of the same elements, with areas of specific expertise depending on whether their focus and background is adults' or children's social work. Objectives for the two post holders will be developed jointly by the two Departments and they will share cross-cutting roles across both social work fields.

Telemedicine

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the business case for Telehealth.

Norman Lamb: The findings of the Whole System Demonstrator programme, published in the British Medical Journal on 22 June 2012, make the case for telehealth. The ‘3millionlives’ initiative has been developed using the learning from this study.
	There is evidence that telehealth can be a powerful lever for improving long-term conditions management and patient outcomes (for example, by reducing emergency admissions and extending life expectancy) and we have developed 3millionlives to help overcome the barriers to cost-effective implementation of telehealth services, in particular to help reduce the costs of equipment. We are not funding a national implementation—the benefits of telehealth will vary according to local circumstances.
	We have developed 3millionlives to enable local commissioners to implement telehealth services where they assess there is a robust business case.

Trichinosis

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many confirmed cases of trichinosis have been reported in (a) adults and (b) children in each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry: The information requested is in the following table and has been provided by the Health Protection Agency. Cases are not reported by age therefore the breakdown between adults and children as requested is not available.
	
		
			 Laboratory-confirmed cases of trichinosis in adults (16 years and over) 
			  England and Wales Scotland Northern Ireland United Kingdom 
			 2007 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 2008 0 0 0 0 
			 2009 0 0 0 0 
			 2010 0 <5 0 <5 
			 2011 0 0 0 0 
			 2012 n/a n/a n/a n/a

Tuberculosis

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with Ministers in the devolved Administrations on trends in the incidence of tuberculosis; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: No discussions have taken place between departmental Ministers and their devolved Administration counterparts regarding trends on the incidence of tuberculosis (TB). However, the Health Protection Agency collaborates with public health colleagues in Health Protection Scotland, Public Health Service, Wales and Public Health Agency for Northern Ireland mainly by sharing surveillance data and recommendations on TB control initiatives.

Visual Impairment

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will establish a core national standard for social services and support for people with impaired vision.

Norman Lamb: From April 2013, the role of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) will expand to include development of quality standards and guidance for social care.
	NICE is currently piloting two joint health and social care quality standards, covering the care of people with dementia and the health and well-being of looked after children and young people. Following a consultation process, NICE is aiming to publish these quality standards in April 2013. It expects that standards in autism and mental well-being of older people in residential care quality standards will be published in 2013-14, with further standards to be published later.
	The Department has referred a further list of joint health and social care quality standards to NICE. This initial list was based on consultation by NICE with the care and support sector, as well as priority areas for action emerging from the White Paper. It is available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/09/nice-social-care/
	The Department intends-to consult with the care and support sector, people using care and support and their families and carers on what NICE quality standards and guidance should be developed in future to improve the quality of social care.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Access to Work Programme

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the contribution of the Minister for Disabled People of 10 July 2012, Official Report, column 171, on access to work, what the evidential basis was for his statement that access to work was spending more money than ever on supporting disabled people; and for what reason the answer to the hon. Member for Edinburgh North and Leith of 15 October 2012, Official Report, column 2W, was not made on the same evidential basis.

Esther McVey: The statement made by the previous Minister for Disabled People, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), on 10 July 2012 was based on announcements made on 7 March and 4 July in which it was announced that the Government is putting more money than ever before into Access to Work by pledging an extra £15 million for Access to Work in this spending review period.
	My answer of 15 October 2012 to the hon. Member for Edinburgh North and Leith (Mark Lazarowicz) showed expenditure on Access to Work for each year since 2008-09.

Asbestos

Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to consult asbestos victims support groups about his proposal to introduce a tariff scheme for untraced insurance claims.

Mark Hoban: Lord Freud is meeting a range of stakeholders, including asbestos victims support groups representatives during November, to discuss the proposals for a Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme and how to improve the claim process for all mesothelioma sufferers more generally.
	We intend to continue to involve all stakeholders as we take this work forward.

Atos Healthcare

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints his Department has received on the performance of Atos Healthcare in respect of its contract with the Department in the last 12 months.

Mark Hoban: Unfortunately it is not possible to state how many complaints received were related to the performance of Atos Healthcare in respect of its contract with the Department as this is not a category used.
	To provide a response to this question would involve the undertaking of a detailed review of all these cases to ascertain how many of the complaints were related to performance and exceed the disproportionate cost limit for parliamentary questions.
	All customer complaints received are taken seriously and are properly investigated prior to a response being issued.

Carer's Allowance

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the adequacy of carer's allowance relative to the hours of care provided.

Mark Hoban: Carer's allowance is to provide a measure of financial support for people who give up the opportunity of full-time employment in order to provide regular and substantial care for a severely disabled person. The carer must spend at least 35 hours each week providing care. It is not intended to be a carer's wage, nor to replace lost or forgone earnings in their entirety.

Catering

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on refreshments since May 2010.

Mark Hoban: Total reported expenditure on refreshments for the 17 months from 1 May 2010 up to and including 30 September 2012 (the latest period for which figures are available) is £207,896.93.
	The profile of expenditure over recent years is as follows:
	2009-10: £285,872.12
	2010-11: £145,700.59
	2011-12: £60,879.69
	2012-13: £28,257.83 (five months: 1 April to 30 September 2012).
	The Department continuously seeks to drive down discretionary expenditure to deliver value for taxpayer's money.

Disability

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to establish a consensus on the additional costs associated with disability.

Esther McVey: Developing a consensus on the additional cost of disability is not straightforward, as the barriers that people face are by their very nature based on their individual circumstances. There is little agreement among academics on the definition of the ‘extra costs of disability’. There are a number of methods for estimating the extra costs, which produce very different results. There are also a range of factors that influence these extra costs associated, including the severity and type of impairment, income and geographic location.

Employment Schemes

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what support his Department offers to single mothers seeking to enter employment.

Mark Hoban: Jobcentre Plus Personal Advisers work with lone parents on a one-to-one basis, delivering a package of advice and support tailored to meet their individual jobseeking needs. This includes: help with finding suitable work and applying for jobs; carrying out a ‘better-off in work' calculation explaining the financial help, benefits and tax credits that may be available when the lone parent starts work; providing advice on the availability and range of formal child care services in the local area; identifying suitable training opportunities; and arranging help with expenses, such as the costs of registered child care and travel costs to attend meetings, job interviews or approved training.
	The Flexible Support Fund has been introduced to support claimants move into work. The fund is used at the discretion of Jobcentre Plus District Managers and Advisers for activities including paying for replacement adult or child care to enable a claimant to undertake training, attend interviews or start work.

Employment Schemes

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department offers support to help parents of zero to five year olds to become self-employed.

Mark Hoban: The Government recognises that self-employment can be a route off benefits for many people, including parents, lone parents, and people on income support and incapacity benefits. Jobcentre Plus advisers will work with claimants of these benefits to signpost them to the most appropriate sources of information and support, including Enterprise Clubs. In addition, self-employment support may be available through Work Choice, and Work Programme providers are free to support their claimants to set up a business.
	For claimants of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) aged 18 and over, the new enterprise allowance (NEA) is available from day one of their claim. NEA helps unemployed people who want to start their own business.

Fuel Poverty

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of enquiries his Department has had from energy companies in (a) the last month and (b) the last year on which of their customers might be classified as vulnerable.

Steve Webb: My Department has been working with the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the six major energy suppliers to provide support to vulnerable customers through the warm home discount scheme. The core group of the scheme is pension credit recipients. Through secure data matching of limited personal data between DWP and participating electricity suppliers, eligible customers receive a discount on their electricity bill. Sharing data in this way means that these customers do not need to take any action to receive the discount, and energy suppliers do not need to make inquiries on individual cases. In 2011-12, over 700,000 discounts of £120 were made to pension credit customers, of which around 600,000 were made automatically. We expect that in 2012-13, over a million pension credit customers will receive a discount of £130.
	Energy suppliers are also required to provide discounts to a broader group of vulnerable customers and each supplier has their own eligibility criteria. DWP has contracts with five of the participating energy companies to provide a percentage verification check, with customer consent, on qualifying benefits. This is delivered through secure electronic data transfer.

Housing Benefit

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average length of claim is for housing benefit claimants under the age of 25 living in (a) the social rented sector and (b) the private rented sector who are (i) single and without children, (ii) single with children, (iii) in a couple and without children and (iv) in a couple with children.

Steve Webb: The information requested is not currently available, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Housing Benefit

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities in preparation for the household benefit cap; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The Department for Work and Pensions is working directly with local authorities to implement the benefit cap, and support claimants who may be affected, prior to its introduction in April 2013. The Department has been consulting with local authority representatives through a national steering group and at an operational level with housing benefit practitioners.
	Guidance in the form of Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit General Bulletins has been issued to all local authorities and they have been made aware of the additional information available on the DWP and Gov.uk websites:
	www.dwp.gov.uk
	www.gov.uk
	The benefit cap project has established an assurance plan and is seeking assurance that all local authorities are preparing to implement and deliver the benefit cap from April 2013.

Housing Benefit

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with local authorities on the potential effect of the household benefit cap on children and families; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: The Department has been meeting, and working with, local authorities since March 2012, providing them with details of claimants likely to be impacted by the benefit cap, in order for them to provide adequate support to help mitigate its impact. DWP and local authorities (including housing and children services) are already working in partnership at local level to encourage those potentially impacted by the cap into work or provide the required support opportunities to move them closer to employment or into more affordable accommodation. In addition, key stakeholders, including representatives from other Government Departments such as Department for Communities and Local Government, the Devolved Administrations and the LGA are engaged with the benefit cap Project.
	We have also announced additional funding for the Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) Scheme of up to £75 million in 2013-14 and up to £45 million in 2014-15. We will clearly set out in the DHP Good Practice Guidance issued to local authorities that this funding should be prioritised for use to support those claimants affected by the benefit cap who, as a result of a number of complex challenges, cannot immediately move into work or more affordable accommodation.
	We cannot predict what behavioural changes those households impacted by the benefit cap, including those families with children, will make following the introduction of the cap in April 2013. We will however be monitoring any impacts on families, as far as possible, through the evaluation of the benefit cap which will capture movement of households to affordable accommodation and into work and include social research with key stakeholders.

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefits

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) errors and administrative delay overpayments and (b) correctly paid benefit payments were made by each local authority in the latest period for which figures are available; and what additional subsidies were payable in respect of such overpayments in the latest period for which figures are available.

Steve Webb: The Department does not hold data at local authority level on (a) the number of local authority error and administrative delay overpayments and (b) the number of correctly paid benefit payments. Tables showing the subsidies paid for local authority error and administrative delay overpayments will be placed in the Library.

Housing Benefit: Greater Manchester

Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what allocation for discretionary housing payment has been made to (a) Manchester and (b) Trafford in (i) 2013-14 and (ii) 2014-15; and how the amounts were calculated.

Steve Webb: The Department is currently in discussions with local authority associations regarding the methodology for allocating discretionary housing payment funding in 2013-14. Once this is finalised, local authorities will be notified of their individual allocation.
	Discussions regarding the allocation of this funding for 2014-15 will begin in summer 2013.

Independent Living Fund

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many people in (a) St Helens South and Whiston constituency, (b) the north-west, (c) England and (d) the UK received payments from the Independent Living Fund in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many places there were at consultation events on the future of the Independent Living Fund in (a) the north-west, (b) England and (c) the UK;
	(3)  how many people (a) attended consultation events on the future of the Independent Living Fund in (i) the north-west, (ii) England and (iii) the UK and (b) expressed an interest in attending such an event but were unable to owing to lack of venue capacity.

Esther McVey: The number of people receiving ILF awards in requested areas is shown in the following table. Please note that this information covers St Helen's local authority area, as the ILF does not capture information at the constituency level.
	
		
			 Financial year St Helens North-west England 
			 April 2012 to September 2012 89 2,864 13,379 
			 April 2011 to March 2012 91 3,0.18 14,276 
			 April 2010 to March 2011 99 3,237 15,371 
			 April 2009 to March 2010 110 3,408 16,207 
			 April 2008 to March 2009 118 3,389 16,271 
			 April 2007 to March 2008 116 3,230 15,828 
		
	
	The information requested relating to consultation events is as follows.
	It should be noted that ILF users and their representatives were able to apply to attend any of the fourteen events across the UK regardless of which part of the country they live, however the closest events to users who live in the north-west of England where held in Manchester, Wrexham, and Leeds.
	
		
			  Manchester Wrexham Leeds England UK 
			 Number of places 42 30 30 323 490 
			 Number attended 34 34 21 270 401 
			 Unable to attend due to capacity 0 0 0 3 6 
		
	
	To explain further the above figures:
	The difference between the number of places, and the number attended is mainly due to people who had booked a place not turning up.
	At the Leeds event 23 people requested a place, whereas places at Manchester and Wrexham were fully allocated.
	In Wrexham, there were 11 additional people that were offered a place on a fringe event. Seven accepted.
	In England, there were a total of 15 people on a reserve list and 12 of these were offered a place on a fringe event. Eight accepted.
	In the UK, there were a total of 43 people on a reserve list and 37 of these were offered a place on a fringe event. 15 accepted.

Jobcentre Plus: Scotland

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many unemployed people used the fast signing procedure at Jobcentre Plus in Motherwell in the last six months.

Mark Hoban: Current data shows that regular fortnightly face to face jobsearch reviews are an efficient way of helping claimants off benefits and into work.
	The Department is currently trialling a number of alternative approaches to fortnightly jobsearch reviews to gather further evidence on the most effective way to support claimants off benefits. One of these trials is reduced-length (or 'speed signing'), and this trial is taking place in two Jobcentre Plus districts: Greater Manchester East and West and Surrey and Sussex.
	I can confirm that Motherwell Jobcentre is not participating in this trial and, as such, is not using fast signing procedures.

New Enterprise Allowance: Scotland

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many new micro-businesses have been created in (a) Lanarkshire and (b) Scotland through the new enterprise allowance.

Mark Hoban: We do not publish data on the number of micro-businesses that have been created through the new enterprise allowance (NEA).
	Official statistics for the NEA can be found on the DWP website:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page= adhoc_analysis

Pension, Disability and Carers Service

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many occasions the chief operating officer of the Pension, Disability and Carers Service has signed replies to letters from hon. Members regarding constituents in the last 12 months.

Mark Hoban: Information is not available in the required format.

Pension, Disability and Carers Service

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will arrange for the hon. Member for Walsall North to receive a substantive reply to his letter of 17 September 2012 from the Pension, Disability and Carers Service (PDCS); and if he will make it the practice for the PDCS to ensure that once decisions are reached on individual cases, the relevant hon. Member is informed accordingly.

Mark Hoban: An official from the Department for Work and Pensions replied to the hon. Member's letter of 17 September 2012 on 8 October 2012.
	On 7 November 2012, a further letter was issued to the hon. Member to inform him of the decision on his constituent's benefit entitlement.

Personal Independence Payment

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the likely number of days between an unsuccessful applicant for the personal independence payment receiving their notification of that result and the ending of their disability living allowance payments.

Esther McVey: The consultation document “DLA reform and Personal Independence Payment—completing the detailed design” set out that where entitlement to personal independence payment has not been established, an individual’s disability living allowance will stop shortly after the decision notice has been sent to them. The Government is still considering the responses received to this consultation and will be publishing its response by the end of the year.

Personal Independence Payment

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which (a) charities and (b) other organisations his Department consulted on the introduction of personal independence payments; what the outcome of that consultation was; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: The Department values the views of charities and organisations representing disabled people, and we have engaged in ongoing and helpful dialogue both at ministerial and official level with a number of representatives.
	As part of the introduction of personal independence payment we have consulted with charities and other organisations including Macmillan Cancer Support, Mind, RNIB and Scope. A full list of those organisations that responded to the DLA reform consultation was published in the April 2011 Government response, with the consultation outcome.
	The Department has since consulted organisations such as these to inform development of secondary legislation to ensure that it is effectively implemented and supports disabled people with the greatest barriers to independent living in the most sensitive, fair and appropriate way. The outcome of those consultations will be published before the end of this year.
	In addition to the formal consultation process, an Assessment Development Group was created to advise on the development of the new assessment. The group comprised experts in health, social care and disability, including disabled people.

Personal Independence Payment

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance his Department plans to issue to providers of the personal independence payment assessment process on (a) the provider’s role in collecting written evidence relating to the claimant’s disability and (b) which claimants should be invited for a face-to-face consultation.

Esther McVey: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Edinburgh East (Sheila Gilmore), on 8 November 2012, Official Report, column 699W.

Poverty: Children

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of children living in two-parent households were living in houses where no one (a) was working and (b) had ever worked in each (i) local authority area, (ii) ward and (iii) lower layer super output area in the most recent period for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of children living with lone parents were living in houses where no one (a) was working and (b) had ever worked, in each (i) local authority area, (ii) ward and (iii) lower layer super output area in the most recent period for which figures are available;
	(3)  how many and what proportion of children live in households in which no one has ever worked in each (a) local authority area, (b) ward and (c) lower layer super output area in the most recent period for which figures are available;
	(4)  how many and what proportion of households had no one who had ever worked in each (a) local authority area, (b) ward and (c) lower layer super output area in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions.
	I am afraid it is not possible to provide reliable estimates due to small sample sizes.

Sick Leave

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for how many and what proportion of days, on average, staff of his Department at each pay grade were absent from work as a result of ill health in each of the last five years.

Mark Hoban: In accordance with cross government arrangements, the Department reports sickness absence based on annual, not monthly, data. These are expressed as average working days lost (AWDL) per employee per year. Monthly data are not used because they are unrepresentative due to seasonal and other causes.
	
		
			 Grade Rolling year to date working days lost full-time equivalent Rolling year to date working days available full-time equivalent Rolling year to date average working days lost by staff year Percentage 
			 March 2012     
			 A/AA 22,504.01 652,767.27 7.76 3.45 
			 B/AO 365,350.26 9,347,399.11 8.79 3.91 
			 C/EO 239,365.20 8,066,247.48 6.68 2.97 
			 D/HEO 29,686.81 1,638,464.16 4.08 1.81 
			 E/SEO 8,226.15 571,942.32 3.24 1.44 
			 F/Grade7 4,050.43 324,353.17 2.81 1.25 
			 G/Grade6 1,550.90 137,639.99 2.54 1.13 
			 SCS 573.79 52,925.91 2.44 1.08 
			      
			 March 2011     
			 A/AA 31,034.70 811,829.78 8.60 3.82 
			 B/AO 470,929.62 10,864,851.89 9.75 4.33 
			 C/EO 289,527.74 8,831,523.93 7.38 3.28 
			 D/HEO 36,707.06 1,776,553.09 4.65 2.07 
			 E/SEO 10,636.15 631,506.91 3.79 1.68 
			 F/Grade7 5,229.73 368,949.82 3.19 1.42 
			 G/Grade6 1,215.45 152,921.39 1.79 0.79 
			 SCS 837.12 62,358.61 3.02 1.34 
			      
			 March 2010     
			 A/AA 41,294.80 941,543.81 9.87 4.39 
			 B/AO 516,010.74 11,389,744.93 10.19 4.53 
			 C/EO 299,199.97 8,791,467.06 7.66 3.40 
			 D/HEO 36,698.80 1,685,061.96 4.90 2.18 
			 E/SEO 10.921.53 607,696.63 4.04 1.80 
			 F/Grade7 5,254.56 343,688.51 3.44 1.53 
			 G/Grade6 1,730.43 136,051.02 2.86 1.27 
			 SCS 601.00 61,720.38 2.19 0.97 
			      
			 March 2009     
			 A/AA 46,623.78 1,011,010.00 10.38 4.61 
			 B/AO 492,022.17 10,172,837.31 10.88 4.84 
			 C/EO 261,878.66 7,564,437.23 7.79 3.46 
			 D/HEO 33,772.16 1,482,820.70 5.12 2.28 
		
	
	
		
			 E/SEO 9,330.67 550,096.76 3.82 1.70 
			 F/Grade7 4,071.55 295,312.93 3.10 1.38 
			 G/Grade6 1,293.83 118,666.75 2.45 1.09 
			 SCS 196.10 57,928.29 0.76 0.34 
			      
			 March 2008     
			 A/AA 67,418.00 1,304,206.00 11.63 5.17 
			 B/AO 620,290.00 11,410,430.00 12.23 5.44 
			 C/EO 309,822.00 8,143,387.00 8.56 3.80 
			 D/HEO 39,851.00 1,573,891.00 5.70 2.53 
			 E/SEO 9,976.00 557,613.00 4.03 1.79 
			 F/Grade7 3,809.00 308,166.00 2.78 1.24 
			 G/Grade6 974.00 128,086.00 1.71 0.76 
			 SCS 411.00 64,905.00 1.42 0.63

Social Fund: Liverpool

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent from the social fund in Liverpool in each of the last 12 months.

Steve Webb: The Social Fund Budget Area that covers Liverpool is Greater Liverpool and Cheshire. Expenditure from Greater Liverpool and Cheshire budget for each of the component parts of the Discretionary Social Fund for the last 12 months is shown in Table 1. The figures give the total expenditure for November 2011 to October 2012.
	
		
			 Table 1: Discretionary Social Fund expenditure for Greater Liverpool and Cheshire Social Fund Budget Area November 2011 to October 2012 
			 Final expenditure (£) 
			 Month Community Care Grants Crisis Loans Budgeting Loans 
			 2011    
			 November 934,000 589,900 4,051,800 
			 December 610,000 540,900 2,332,700 
			     
			 2012    
			 January 700,700 772,000 1,187,900 
			 February 774,200 734,800 2,183,500 
			 March 701,900 676,100 2,167,100 
			 April 664,800 534,700 1,902,000 
			 May 668,800 554,900 2,295,700 
			 June 449,900 531,300 1,961,300 
			 July 802,600 573,200 2,131,200 
			 August 809,500 597,900 2,048,800 
			 September 749,200 573,500 1,978,800 
			 October 779,900 580,200 2,918,300 
			 Total 8,645,500 7,259,400 27,159,100 
		
	
	Table 2 gives expenditure for the last 12 months from Greater Liverpool and Cheshire budget on the Funeral Payment and Sure Start Maternity Grant schemes, which are components of the Regulated Social Fund.
	
		
			 Table 2: Funeral Payment and Sure Start Maternity Grant expenditure for Greater Liverpool and Cheshire Social Fund Budget Area, November 2011 to October 2012 
			 Final expenditure (£) 
			 Month Funeral Payments Sure Start Maternity Grants 
			 2011   
			 November 241,900 188,000 
			 December 217,400 134,000 
			    
			 2012   
			 January 310,900 183,000 
			 February 248,100 157,000 
			 March 244,100 187,500 
			 April 234,300 123,000 
			 May 259,200 159,000 
		
	
	
		
			 June 230,400 144,500 
			 July 240,600 155,000 
			 August 223,800 148,500 
			 September 223,600 131,500 
			 October 204,200 181,000 
			 Total 2,878,500 1,892,000 
			 Notes: 1. The information provided is Management Information. Our preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using Official/National Statistics but in this case we only have Management Information available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official/National statistics and there are some issues with the data, for example, these amounts do not include expenditure on applications which were processed clerically and have not yet been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System. 2. Data on Social Fund expenditure is not held by local authority or parliamentary constituency but by Social Fund Budget Area. 3. The figures include expenditure made to local authorities other than Liverpool which are also covered by the Greater Liverpool and Cheshire Budget Area. 4. Cold weather payments are made to benefit units rather than to households or individuals. A benefit unit can be a single person or a couple and can include children. 5. The weather stations listed also covers an area that is not part of the Liverpool Riverside, Liverpool Walton, Liverpool Wavertree and Liverpool West Derby parliamentary constituencies. 6. The estimated number of benefit units which have received cold weather payments relates to the entire area that the weather station covers, not just to that in the listed parliamentary constituencies. 7. Expenditure has been rounded to the nearest £100. The figures may not sum due to rounding. Source: Department for Work and Pensions Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System (final expenditure, including awards made on review, reconsideration or appeal, for the Greater Liverpool and Cheshire Social Fund Budget Area). 
		
	
	The final component of the Regulated Social Fund is the cold weather payments scheme. The postcode areas that make up the four Liverpool parliamentary constituencies (Liverpool Riverside, Liverpool Walton, Liverpool Wavertree and Liverpool West Derby) are covered by the Crosby Met Office weather station.
	The Crosby weather station did not trigger during the 2011-12 cold weather payments season, which ran from 1 November 2011 to 31 March 2012. Thus there was no cold weather payments expenditure paid out at this weather station during the 2011-12 season.

Social Fund: Newham

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent on (a) community care grants and (b) crisis loans in the London borough of Newham in each month in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012 to date.

Steve Webb: Table 1 shows the monthly expenditure on crisis loans and community care grants in Newham between January 2010 and March 2012.
	
		
			 Table 1: Expenditure on crisis loans and community care grants in Newham between January 2010 and March 2012 
			 £ 
			  Community care grants Crisis loans 
			 2010   
			 January 60,000 66,900 
			 February 68,700 66,900 
			 March 93,700 85,200 
			 April 68,900 75,000 
			 May 65,900 68,500 
			 June 59,400 80,600 
			 July 58,400 71,500 
			 August 89,300 70,000 
			 September 95,200 85,800 
			 October 54,800 75,900 
			 November 66,600 71,800 
			 December 55,700 67,800 
			 2011   
			 January 71,900 75,500 
			 February 101,600 71,400 
			 March 123,700 70,100 
			 April 59,200 44,400 
			 May 71,300 49,000 
			 June 72,000 49,100 
			 July 67,800 49,300 
			 August 59,200 49,100 
			 September 77,600 59,300 
			 October 67,000 36,300 
			 November 84,000 31,300 
			 December 56,300 40,000 
			    
			 2012   
			 January 77,900 55,400 
			 February 114,500 54,700 
			 March 91,000 57,100 
			 Notes: 1. The information provided is Management Information. Our preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using Official / National Statistics but in this case we only have Management Information available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official / National statistics and there are some issues with the data; for example, these amounts do not include expenditure on applications which were processed clerically and have not yet been entered on to the social fund computer system. 2. Data on social fund expenditure is not held by local authority. These figures have been produced by matching records in the social fund computer system data with the DWP National Benefit Database. The figures given here are taken from the datasets used to produce the published Social Fund Reform Localisation data: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/local-authority-staff/social-fund-reform/localisation-data/ Equivalent figures are not available from April 2012 onwards, as the data required from the National Benefit Database have not yet been published. 3. Expenditure is rounded to the nearest £100. 4. The figures given on crisis loan expenditure include awards made for all types of crisis loans (alignment, living expenses, items and rent-in-advance). Source: Social fund computer system data scans linked to the Department for Work and Pensions National Benefits Database.

Social Security Benefits

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what evidence he has taken into account of problems caused in the present system by the need to adjust to a monthly frequency of payment for those entering employment.

Mark Hoban: The Government recognises the issues caused by the need to adjust to a different frequency of payment, for those moving from benefit into work. 75% of all people in employment currently receive their earnings monthly, and monthly direct debits for household bills are often cheaper than more frequent billing options.
	This is why universal credit will, in the vast majority of cases, be paid as a single monthly payment to a household. Encouraging out of work households to budget on a monthly, rather than fortnightly basis, will better prepare people for the reality of working life. To help people move from current benefits onto universal credit, we will allow them to request an advance payment of universal credit to cover financial gaps where their frequency of benefit payments changes from weekly, fortnightly or four weekly to monthly payments of universal credit.
	Moving to a single monthly household payment is a significant change to the way most benefits are currently paid and we will make support available to help claimants manage that change.
	For a minority of claimants, time-limited alternative payment arrangements may be required. These might included paying the rent directly to the landlord, making more frequent than monthly payments or splitting the payment within the household to ensure the successful transition to universal credit monthly budgeting.
	Detailed proposals for how payment exceptions will be delivered are still being developed, and in order to provide greater flexibility, the circumstances about when payment exceptions will be appropriate will be set out in guidance. This approach will enable cases to be assessed on their individual merits.

Social Security Benefits

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the effects of changes made by the Government to the welfare system on efforts to curtail serious gang-related youth violence.

Mark Hoban: The Department for Work and Pensions is working closely with the Home Office on the Ending Gang and Youth Violence agenda. It is clear that the best and most sustainable way to prevent young people being caught up in gang related violence is through access to employment opportunities. DWP has introduced a comprehensive suite of employment support for young people. In addition, we have held, or are in the process of setting up, employment focused discussions in each of the 29 worst affected areas, in collaboration with Home Office. These discussions bring together local partners to share thinking on the dynamics of the issue in relation to gang violence and employment, and to work together towards meaningful solutions.

Social Security Benefits

Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will exempt people who are resident in women's refuges from the benefit cap.

Mark Hoban: We have announced that housing support for claimants resident in women's refuges which are classed as supported exempt accommodation will be provided outside of universal credit. We are still considering whether these payments should be taken into account when determining whether the benefit cap should be applied to a household.
	Before claimants resident in women's refuges are migrated to universal credit they will continue to receive housing benefit which will be subject to the benefit cap. However Discretionary Housing Payments will be available if claimants are unable to meet all their supported housing costs because they have been capped. We have increased the Discretionary Housing Payment budget with up to an additional £75 million in 2013-14 and up to £45 million in 2014-15 for cases affected by the cap. DWP will be working closely with local authorities to ensure these claimants are offered the appropriate help.

Social Security Benefits

Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many residents of women's refuges in England have claimed benefits in each year since 2007; and how many dependent children they claimed for.

Mark Hoban: Information on the number of residents in women's refuges is not collected on the data available for analysis and therefore is not available.

Social Security Benefits

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of households that will be affected by more than one of (a) the household benefit cap, (b) localisation of council tax benefit, (c) changes to employment and support allowance and (d) changes to local housing allowance in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: The information requested is not available.

Social Security Benefits

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of people aged between 18 and 65 in the UK (a) do not work and claim benefits, (b) do not work and do not claim benefits, (c) are in work and claim benefits and (d) are in work and do not claim benefits in each (i) local authority area and (ii) ward in each year for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many and what proportion of people aged between 18 and 65 in the UK (a) do not work and claim benefits, (b) do not work and do not claim benefits, (c) are in work and claim benefits and (d) are in work and do not claim benefits in each (i) local authority and (ii) ward in each year for which figures are available (128098)
	The ONS compiles Labour Market Statistics for small areas following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions using the Annual Population Survey (APS). Unfortunately, due to small sample sizes this data does not support analyses for wards.
	Estimates for local authorities have been produced for people aged 18 to 64 from the APS for the requested categories for:
	the latest 12 month period ending June 2012
	the 12 month periods ending December for 2004 to 2011.
	As the requested data is quite extensive, a copy of the tables has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	It should be noted that comparisons between the data collected by the APS and administrative data collected by other Government departments show that the APS consistently undercounts benefit claimants.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates accompanies the estimates for the latest period.

Social Security Benefits: Coastal Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the potential effect of recent changes to the welfare system on the movement of vulnerable people to the principal seaside towns of the UK.

Steve Webb: The Department has commissioned a consortium of academics and research organisations led by Ian Cole, professor of housing studies at Sheffield Hallam university to undertake an independent review of the impact of changes to the local housing allowance system of housing benefit.
	Elements of the research are impacts on vulnerable individuals and a spatial analysis of the effects of the changes that will examine movement from one local authority to another.
	The Department published a report of early findings on 14 June and a copy of the report has been lodged in the House Library.
	Further findings from the interim stage of the review will be published early in the new year.

Unemployment

Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will publish unemployment statistics for each (a) gender, (b) ethnicity and (c) disability for each region.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated November 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking for unemployment statistics for each (a) gender, (b) ethnicity and (c) disability for each region. (127712)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes estimates of unemployment, following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions, by gender each month from the Labour Force Survey (LFS); in the Regional Labour Market Statistics bulletin on the ONS website. The latest estimates are for June to August 2012 and are shown in table 1.
	The ONS compiles estimates of ILO unemployment for smaller populations using the Annual Population Survey (APS), with July 2011 to June 2012 being the latest data available. Table 2 shows the level and rate for people unemployed by gender in each region from the APS, for comparison with the tables covering disability and ethnicity.
	Due to small sample sizes it is not possible to provide estimates of unemployment by detailed ethnicity or disability groups. As an alternative table 3 shows the level and rate of people of white ethnicity and other ethnicities who were unemployed in each region. Table 4 shows the level and rate of people who were disabled or not disabled and unemployed in each region.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS and APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in the tables.
	These figures along with a wide range of other labour market data for parliamentary constituencies and local authorities are also published on the Office for National Statistics’ Nomis website:
	www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Number and rate (1)  of people unemployed by region and sex, June to August 2012 
			  Male Female 
			  Level (2)  (thousand) Rate  (percentage) Level (2)  (thousand) Rate (percentage) 
			 North-east ***80 11.3 ***49 8.2 
			 North-west **177 9.6 **115 7.1 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber **149 10.0 **104 8.5 
			 East midlands **99 8.0 ***81 7.5 
			 West midlands **137 9.4 **96 7.8 
			 East of England **107 6.5 **98 6.8 
			 London **210 8.9 **170 9.0 
			 South-east **144 6.0 **138 6.6 
			 South-west ***99 6.8 ***59 4.7 
			 Wales ***66 8.3 ***59 8.3 
			 Scotland **131 9.1 ***90 7.1 
		
	
	
		
			 Northern Ireland ***44 9.6 ***25 6.3 
			 (1) Unemployment rate has been calculated as percentage of economically active who were unemployed. (2) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 ≤ CV<5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 ≤ CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 ≤ CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ≥ 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes Source: Labour Force Survey

Unemployment Benefits

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total cost to the public purse was of out-of-work benefits in each local authority area in the last year for which figures are available; and how many people had been in receipt of out-of-work benefits for (a) one year, (b) two years, (c) three years, (d) four years, (e) five years and (f) 10 years as at the most recent date for which figures are available.

Mark Hoban: Local authority expenditure tables can be found at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/la_expenditure.xls
	The available information to answer the second part of the question will be placed in the Library.

Unemployment Benefits: Coastal Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of people were claiming out-of-work benefits in each of the principal seaside towns in the UK in each of the last 10 years.

Mark Hoban: The information is not readily available and has not previously been published as official statistics. We will consider whether it is feasible to produce the statistics requested within the disproportionate cost limit and, if so, will issue them in an Official Statistics release in accordance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

Universal Credit

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) income, (b) work status, (c) family type and (d) household tenure type is of those people who he estimates will see higher marginal reduction rates under universal credit; and what their average weekly reductions will be.

Mark Hoban: Marginal deduction rates (MDRs) measure the incentive for someone in work to increase their hours of work. Therefore we can only assess MDRs for (a) individuals with positive earnings and (b) individuals in work.
	The impact assessment states that in Great Britain around 2.1 million individuals will have higher MDRs under universal credit but the median increase will be relatively small, at around four percentage points.
	Around 1.2 million individuals will have lower MDRs under universal credit with a median reduction of 27 percentage points.
	Tables 1 and 2 show the change in MDR by (c) family type and (d) household tenure type.
	It is important to note that MDRs are partially driven by the generosity of the benefit system. For example, where families without children see a large average increase in their MDR, some of these households become entitled to state support for the first time under universal credit; as a result the universal credit taper will be combined with tax/NI thus increasing their MDR. Therefore, for these households, the increase in MDRs is associated with an increase in their income as they receive state support for the first time in work.
	
		
			 Table 1: Change in MDR by family type 
			  Couple with children Couple without children Lone parent Single without children All 
			 MDR increases (million) 1.1 0.2 0.5 0.3 2.1 
			 MDR decreases (million) 0.5 0.2 0.3 0.2 1.2 
			       
			 Mean increase (ppt) 17 34 7 51 22 
			 Mean decrease (ppt) -28 -41 -27 -39 -31 
			 Median increase (ppt) 4 44 4 ' 65 4 
			 Median decrease (ppt) -19 -41 -14 -41 -27 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Change in MDR by household tenure type 
			  Renting Non renting All 
			 MDR increases (million) 0.8 1.3 2.1 
			 MDR decreases (million) 0.6 0.6 1.2 
		
	
	
		
			 Mean increase (ppt) 26 20 22 
			 Mean decrease (ppt) -25 -38 -31 
			 Median increase (ppt) 13 4 4 
			 Median decrease (ppt) -14 -41 -27

Universal Credit

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  pursuant to his answer of 29 October 2012, Official Report, column 65W, on universal credit, what analysis his Department has undertaken on the average weekly loss or gain to a second earner in a couple with two children where the first earner works 10 hours under universal credit compared to existing arrangements at (a) 10 hours' and (b) 35 hours' work.
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 29 October 2012, Official Report, column 66W, on universal credit, what estimate his Department has made of the average weekly (a) loss and (b) gain to a second earner in a couple with no children, where the first earner works 10 hours under universal credit compared to existing arrangements at (i) 10 hours' and (ii) 35 hours' work.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is not available.
	Under universal credit, couples living in the same household will make a joint claim for benefits. It is therefore not possible to estimate the average gain and loss for an individual within a couple.
	It is important to recognise that a package of transitional protection is being developed in order to ensure that there will be no cash losers as a direct result of the move to universal credit where circumstances remain the same.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 5 November 2012, Official Report, column 503W, on universal credit, what estimate his Department has made of the number of households expected to receive universal credit which possess a joint bank account.

Mark Hoban: No estimate has been made as to the number of households expected to receive universal credit which possess a joint bank account.

Welfare State: Northern Ireland

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will publish his Department's impact assessment with respect to the effects of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 in Northern Ireland;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effects of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 on pensioners in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: Northern Ireland is responsible for its own social security system and the Northern Ireland Assembly is currently considering a separate Northern Ireland Welfare Reform Bill. These questions should, therefore, be addressed to the Minister for Social Development in the Northern Ireland Executive.

Wheels to Work Schemes

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what financial support his Department provided to wheels to work schemes in each financial year from 2008-09 to 2011-12.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is not collated centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Work Capability Assessment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many audio recordings of work capability assessments have been requested in each month since December 2011; and how many such requests have been granted in each such month.

Mark Hoban: 1,488 audio-recordings have been requested and granted for work capability assessments from 1 December 2011 to 31 October 2012. The monthly breakdown is shown in the following table. The third column indicates the number of audio-recordings undertaken, which may not be carried out in the month that the request for audio-recording is received, for example, requests received in October may not be carried out until November or December.
	
		
			  Requested Granted Undertaken 
			 December 2011 13 13 10 
			 January 2012 32 32 21 
			 February 2012 49 49 36 
			 March 2012 84 84 58 
			 April 2012 112 112 58 
			 May 2012 119 119 64 
			 June 2012 116 116 40 
			 July 2012 184 184 90 
			 August 2012 222 222 102 
			 September 2012 243 243 127 
			 October 2012 314 314 143 
			 Total 1,488 1,488 749

Work Capability Assessment

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to ensure that the work capability assessment takes full account of the cognitive impact of stroke;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to ensure that those carrying out work capability assessments are fully trained to understand the effect of stroke on a person's (a) mental and (b) physical health.

Mark Hoban: All Atos Healthcare professionals carrying out work capability assessments are fully trained in disability assessment medicine, which includes specific training in assessing individuals with mental health conditions. They also receive ongoing medical education to remain up to speed with developments in disability medicine.
	During an assessment, health care professionals assess the functional effects of an individual's condition, rather than the condition itself. A health care professional assesses someone's physical and mental capabilities, according to a set of criteria laid out in legislation, to provide a comprehensive assessment of their ability to work in the modern workplace.
	The activities and descriptors used in the assessment were developed in consultation with medical experts and representative groups to ensure that they are appropriate for all conditions.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 1 November 2012, Official Report, column 839W, on early access to the Work programme, how many individuals in receipt of jobseeker's allowance likely to be affected by the benefit cap have volunteered for early access to the Work programme since June 2012.

Mark Hoban: This information is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many written parliamentary questions to his Department received a substantive answer (a) within five working days, (b) between six and 10 working days and (c) after more than 10 working days in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Steve Webb: In the 12 months to 31 October 2012, DWP Ministers answered a total of 2,026 ordinary written questions of which, (a) 997 (49%) were answered within five working days, (b) 875 (43%%) were answered in between six and 10 working days and (c) 154 (8%) were answered after more than 10 working days.
	The Government has committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the current session. Statistics relating to performance for the 2010-12 parliamentary session are available on the Parliament website as follows:
	http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/procedure/P35_Memorandum_Leader_of_the_House_ Monitoring_PQs.pdf

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of written parliamentary questions to his Department received holding responses in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Steve Webb: In the 12 months to 31 October 2012, DWP Ministers answered a total of 1,264 named day questions, of which 1,234 (98%) were answered on the named day and 30 (2%) were given holding replies.
	The Government has committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written parliamentary question performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information to the Committee at the end of the current Session. Statistics relating to performance for the 2010-12 parliamentary Session are available on the Parliament website as follows:
	http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/procedure/P35_Memorandum_Leader_of_the_House_ Monitoring_PQs.pdf

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

National Planning Policy Framework

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of progress by local authorities in implementing the National Planning Policy Framework and establishing local policies.

Nicholas Boles: 65% of local planning authorities now have a published Local Plan.
	By contrast, six years after the 2004 Planning Act, by May 2010, only 57 Core Strategies had been adopted, out of 335 local planning authorities.

4G Spectrum Revenue

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will estimate the potential number of affordable homes, jobs and apprenticeships that would be created if the revenue from the auction of the 4G mobile telephone spectrum was used to fund an affordable house building programme by his Department.

Don Foster: As the 4G auction has not yet taken place we do not know what the total amount of generated revenue will be, however, OFCOM have estimated a reserve price of £1.3 billion (OFCOM press release, 12 November 2012).
	Moreover, as outlined in the answer of 2 November 2012, Official Report, column 403W, up to £600 million of these revenues have been allocated to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	We are making great progress in the development of affordable housing. We stand to deliver 170,000 more affordable homes from 2011 to 2015, levering in £19.5 billion of public and private investment.

Affordable Housing

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department has considered extending the ability for a developer to ask for an immediate renegotiation of affordable housing requirements to other types of agreement covered by section 106 agreements.

Nicholas Boles: While there will be a number of factors stalling sites, we know that the value of section 106 agreements (agreed in more favourable market conditions) will be a factor affecting the viability of sites. Research from 2007-08 shows that about 50% of all planning obligations are for affordable housing.
	Clause 5 of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill, will allow for a focused, quick and inexpensive renegotiation process looking at affordable housing obligations and economic viability.
	However, we recognise that—particularly on those sites with agreements signed at the peak of the housing boom—a wider renegotiation may be necessary. That is why we have consulted on a proposal to allow immediate renegotiation of wider section 106 obligations for those agreed prior to April 2010. We are currently considering consultation responses and will announce the outcome shortly.

Affordable Housing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes have been included in section 106 agreements for developments to build retirement housing in each of the last 10 years.

Don Foster: Section 106 agreements are locally negotiated and held locally. Information on the number of affordable homes included in section 106 agreements for developments to build retirement housing in each of the last 10 years is therefore not held centrally.

Council Tax

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes are exempt from council tax under the class D exemption for dwellings left unoccupied by prisoners; and if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of that exemption in each of the last three years.

Brandon Lewis: In October 2011, the latest date for which information is available, local authorities in England reported there were approximately 2,000 dwellings exempt from council tax under the class D exemption for dwellings left unoccupied by prisoners. This information is available in table 4 of the statistical release “Local Authority Council Taxbase 2011 England” that is available on the DCLG website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/localregional/localgovernmentfinance/statistics/counciltaxbase/
	Exemption from council tax does not produce a cost to central Government as the council tax not collected from exempt dwellings is taking into consideration when setting the council tax for the local authority area.
	The amount of council tax foregone nationally because of the class D exemption cannot be calculated as the council tax bands of exempt properties are not known. However, the following table shows an estimate for the last three years, based on the assumptions that all properties are in band D, and that all properties were subject to a single person discount of 25% before the exemption was applied.
	
		
			 Amount of council tax foregone 
			  £ million 
			 2009-10 2.3 
			 2010-11 2.1 
			 2011-12 2.1

Homelessness: Tees Valley

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of homeless young people on Teesside in each year from 2007 to 2012 to date.

Don Foster: The information requested is provided in the following tables.
	
		
			 (a) Homelessness acceptances with applicant aged 16 to 24 
			  Hartlepool Middlesbrough Redcar and Cleveland Stockton-on-Tees Total 
			 2007 46 44 23 92 205 
			 2008 18 8 39 124 189 
			 2009 8 0 12 72 92 
			 2010 4 15 2 23 44 
			 2011 8 43 3 25 79 
			 2012 (Q1 and Q2) 3 5 1 9 18 
			 Total 87 115 80 345 627 
		
	
	
		
			 (b) Homelessness acceptances for priority need categories relating to young people 
			  Hartlepool Middlesbrough Redcar and Cleveland Stockton-on-Tees Total 
			 (i) Applicant 16 or 17 years old      
			 2007 5 9 12 19 45 
			 2008 1 0 23 20 44 
			 2009 1 0 3 6 10 
			 2010 0 1 0 ¦0 1 
			 2011 2 1 0 0 3 
			 2012 (Q1 and Q2) 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 9 11 38 45 103 
			       
			 ( ii) Applicant formerly in care and 18 to 20 years old      
			 2007 1 0 0 0 1 
			 2008 0 0 0 0 0 
			 2009 0 0 0 0 0 
			 2010 1 0 0 0 1 
			 2011 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 2012 (Q1 and Q2) 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 2 0 0 0 2 
			 Note: Figures from section (a) above cannot be added to those from section (b) to give an overall total because they are the results of breaking down the same total number of homelessness acceptances in two different ways. Source: PIE returns from local authorities 
		
	
	A robust homelessness safety net remains in place for young homeless people. Local authorities have a statutory duty to house 16 and 17-year-olds, care leavers under the age of 21, and people over 21 who are vulnerable as a result of being in care.
	The Ministerial Working Group on Homelessness published their second report in August 2012, which stresses the importance of supporting vulnerable young people to make a successful transition to adulthood. It champions a model of a ‘positive youth accommodation pathway' for those who cannot stay within the family network or are leaving care. The report can be obtained from the Department's website at:
	www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/makingeverycontactcount
	We secured an additional £70 million last year to help local agencies prevent and tackle rough sleeping and single homelessness. This is on top of the £400 million we are investing for homelessness prevention over four years (2011-12 to 2014-15) which includes £10.8 million to help single people access private rented sector accommodation.

Housing: Construction

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make it his policy that the Housing Standards Review should result in an increase to the (a) quality and (b) sustainability of new homes; and if he will make a statement.

Don Foster: The terms of reference for the Housing Standards Review, published on 31 October, make clear our intention that new homes should be built to high sustainability and quality standards, and this is the starting point for the review. The terms of reference also make it clear that the review will not compromise essential safety and accessibility protections.

Housing: Construction

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make it his policy to ensure an ongoing improvement in the (a) quality, (b) sustainability standards, (c) water efficiency and (d) energy efficiency of new homes; what steps he is already taking to improve the quality of new homes; and if he will make a statement.

Don Foster: As we made clear in the housing strategy, published last November, the Government is committed to improving the quality of new homes. The National Planning Policy Framework, published in March, also emphasises the importance of well-designed new homes and neighbourhoods and of working with communities early in the development process to achieve that.
	In addition, the building regulations already set national minimum standards to ensure our buildings do not have an adverse impact on the health, safety and welfare of the people who live and work in them. They also address wider sustainability issues, not least in setting minimum energy and water efficiency standards in new homes. The Government committed earlier in the year to further improvements in those energy efficiency standards.

Housing: Construction

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will publish the evidence base for the statement in his Housing Standards Review that current housing codes, standards, rules, regulations and guidance amount to an untenable forest adding unnecessary cost and complexity to the house building process; and if he will make a statement.

Don Foster: The complex and costly tangle of regulations and standards applying to new housing has long been recognised as a problem which needs addressing. This was acknowledged in the Harman Review of Local Standards, which was led by the Local Government Association and Home Builders Federation. Their report was published in June and is available at:
	http://www.nhbc.co.uk/NewsandComment/Name,47338,en.html
	Additionally, a considerable body of representations and evidence was submitted to Government through the Red Tape Challenge website, which remains publicly accessible at:
	http://www.redtapechallenge.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/themehome/housing-and-construction/
	Some organisations also made individual submissions to this process, and have made their submissions public on their own websites.

Local Government: Powers

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Government's localism agenda; and if he will make a statement.

Don Foster: We have begun the task of tackling decades of centralising Government. The Department for Communities and Local Government is working with over 200 areas that are developing neighbourhood plans and in July we launched the £30 million Community Rights support service to provide help and grants to organisations the Community Rights to Bid, Challenge and Build. Over 1,600 organisations have been in contact to seek further information through this service—suggesting a significant level of demand within communities. As these provisions have only been commenced in the last few months however, it is too early to comment on their impact more widely.
	The Department continues to press forward on this agenda. We are currently working with 12 areas across England to support them to develop Neighbourhood Community Budgets and on 31 October we published proposals to make it easier to set up new town and parish councils.

Planning Permission

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance he has given to the Planning Inspectorate on the definition of viability in respect of section 106 renegotiations.

Nicholas Boles: The Growth and Infrastructure Bill was introduced to Parliament on 18 October 2012. Clause 5 of which makes provision for the modification or discharge of unviable affordable housing requirements, and for the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), to issue associated guidance. The Government will issue any associated guidance in due course.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Metals: Theft

Philip Davies: To ask the hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, what the cost of metal theft from Church of England property was in (a) Shipley constituency, (b) Bradford metropolitan area and (c) the UK in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012 to date.

Tony Baldry: The following figures are from Ecclesiastical Insurance, who insure the majority of churches in England, and is their estimate of the costs of repairs to Anglican churches. Figures for 2012 are for the period up until 31 October.
	(a) Figures are not available specifically for the Shipley constituency.
	(b) Though figures are not kept for the Bradford metropolitan area, the figures for the Bradford diocese are as follows:
	
		
			  Claims Cost (£) 
			 2010 45 153,698 
			 2011 37 141,342 
			 2012 10 16,963 
		
	
	(c) In the UK the figures are:
	
		
			  Claims Cost (£) 
			 2010 1,946 6,501,400 
			 2011 2,882 9,810,592 
			 2012 914 3,346,273 
		
	
	Since January 2007 there have been 167 insurance claims across the Bradford Diocese. The diocese includes 164 churches. Some churches will have suffered no losses and some will have suffered multiple losses.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Joint Ministerial Committee

Margaret Curran: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2012, Official Report, column 608W, on Joint Ministerial Committee, when he plans to publish the report of the work of the Joint Ministerial Committee and its sub-committees in 2011-12.

Nicholas Clegg: The Annual Report of the work of the Joint Ministerial Committee was published following the Plenary meeting of the Committee on 19 September 2012. It is available on the Number 10 website at:
	http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/joint-ministerial-committee-communique/
	I am also placing a copy of the Annual Report in the Library.
	At the September Plenary meeting, a revised Memorandum of Understanding and Supplementary Agreements were agreed between the UK Government, the Scottish Ministers, the Welsh Ministers and the Northern Ireland Executive Committee. I am placing a copy of the revised Memorandum of Understanding in the Library and a copy is also available on the Cabinet Office website.

JUSTICE

Azelle Rodney Inquiry

David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the daily cost to the public purse of the Azelle Rodney inquiry.

Jeremy Wright: The cost of the Azelle Rodney inquiry is published on the website at:
	http://azellerodneyinquiry.independent.gov.uk/docs/Costs_2012.09.30.pdf
	The cost as at 30 September 2012 was £1,435,485.

Criminal Injuries Compensation: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in (a) Warrington and (b) Warrington North constituency received awards under tariffs one to five of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and what the total value of such awards was in each year.

Helen Grant: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) does not hold any information that would allow it to extract figures based on parliamentary constituencies. The CICA can, however, provide figures for Warrington, these are set out in the following table. For the purposes of answering this question they have defined Warrington as the postcode range fromWA1 toWA5.
	
		
			 Financial year Number of claims Total claims (£) 
			 2007-08 113 188,989 
		
	
	
		
			 2008-09 104 151,282 
			 2009-10 95 148,287 
			 2010-11 100 150,328 
			 2011-12 81 126,145

Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012

Paul Goggins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he intends to announce details of the Government's review to be undertaken pursuant to section 48 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

Helen Grant: The Government have already announced that Part 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act relating to civil litigation funding and costs will be implemented in April 2013. However, provisions under sections 44 and 46 of the Act (recoverable success fees and insurance premiums) will not be brought into force in relation to mesothelioma claims until a review has been undertaken and published in accordance with section 48.
	The timetable for the review is dependent on the new scheme for mesothelioma claimants who cannot trace a liable employer or its insurer. Details of that scheme were announced by the Department for Work and Pensions on 25 July 2012, and further announcements will be made in due course.

Legal Services Ombudsman: Staff

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many staff of each (a) gender and (b) grade work (i) part-time and (ii) full-time on (A) permanent and (B) casual contracts in the Office of the Legal Ombudsman in Birmingham;
	(2)  how many staff have left the Office of the Legal Ombudsman in each quarter since October 2010;
	(3)  what pay bands are for (a) the senior management team and (b) other staff in the Office of the Legal Ombudsman.

Helen Grant: Information provided by the Legal Ombudsman is provided in the following tables.
	
		
			 ( a) Gender 
			  Full-time Part-Time  
			  Permanent Fixed term contracts Permanent Fixed term contracts Total 
			 Male 96 3 1 0 100 
			 Female 136 6 17 0 159 
			 Total 232 9 18 0 259 
		
	
	
		
			 ( b )  Grade 
			  Full- time Part-time  
			 Grade Permanent Fixed term contracts Permanent Fixed term contracts Total 
			 A 5 1 0 0 6 
			 B 12 0 0 0 12 
			 C 36 1 1 0 38 
			 D 120 1 15 0 136 
			 E 48 5 2 0 55 
			 Ombudsman 6 0 0 0 6 
			 Executive 5 1 0 0 6 
			 Total 232 9 18 0 259 
			 Note: Part-time is classed as working 30 hours or less per week. 
		
	
	
		
			 Number of staff that have left the Legal Ombudsman in each quarter since October 2010 
			 Quarter left Permanent Fixed term (not including agency) Total 
			 October-December 2010 4 3 7 
			 January-March 2011 12 1 13 
			 April-June 2011 11 3 14 
			 July-September 2011 14 2 16 
			 October-December 2011 7 5 12 
			 January-March 2012 15 10 25 
			 April-June 2012 8 1 9 
			 July-September 2012 12 5 17 
			 Total 84 31 115 
		
	
	
		
			 Pay bands 
			 Grade Level Example role Entry Developing Acquired Mastered Stretch Stretch Plus 
			 E 1 Administrator 14,393 15,524 16,655 17,786 18,877 20,049 
			 E 2 Co-ordinator 16,413 17,705 18,998 20,291 21,331 22,624 
			 E 3 Assessor 18,433 19,847 21,261 22,422 23,836 25,250 
			 D 1 Corporate various 22,422 24,171 25,920 27,669 29,417 31,167 
		
	
	
		
			 D 2 Investigator 25,250 27,270 29,290 31,310 33,330 35,350 
			 D 3 Corporate supervisor 27,669 29,407 31,145 32,884 34,622 36,360 
			 C 1 Team leader/corporate manager 26,260 27,876 29,492 31,108 32,724 34,340 
			 C 2 Team leader/corporate manager 32,724 34,753 36,782 38,810 40,839 42,868 
			 C 3 Corporate manager 36,360 38,614 40,869 43,123 45,377 47,632 
			 B 1 SMT 40,400 42,420 44,440 46,460 48,480 50,500 
			 B 2 SMT 48,480 50,904 53,328 55,752 58,176 60,600 
			 B 1a Operations managers 44,400 46,662 48,884 51,106 53,328 55,500 
			 B 3 SMT 58,176 61,085 63,994 66,902 69,811 72,720 
			 A 1 Head 50,500 52,520 54,540 56,560 58,580 60,600 
			 A 2 Head 58,580 60,923 63,266 65,610 67,953 70,296 
			 A 3 Head 67,953 70,522 73,092 75,661 78,231 80,800 
		
	
	Non banded roles:
	Ombudsman: £87,493
	Chief Ombudsman: £131,071
	Executive Management Team range: From £75,750 to £111,100

Pay

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 15 October 2012, Official Report, column 122W, on pay, what the annual salary is of the (a) permanent secretary of the Ministry of Justice, (b) chief executive of the National Offender Management Service, (c) chief executive of Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals, (d) Public Guardian of the Office of the Public Guardian and (e) chief executive of the Office of the Public Guardian.

Jeremy Wright: Annual salary information about the first three positions is published online as part of the Government's 'Transparency Agenda'. Salaries are disclosed within £5,000 salary bands and only about officials working at, or above, the equivalent grade of senior civil servant pay band 2.
	For these positions, the published information is as follows:
	(a) The salary of the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Justice is £180,000.00 to £184,999.00.
	(b) The salary of the chief executive of the National Offender Management Service is £145,000.00 to £149,000.00.
	(c) The salary of the chief executive of Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals is £145,000.00 to 149,999.00.
	Salary information on the one position of chief executive and Public Guardian of the Office of the Public Guardian has not yet been published under the Transparency Agenda because the post was below the equivalent grade of SCS Pay Band 2.
	However, 2011-12 salary information was published in the Office of Public Guardian annual report and accounts 2011-12. The annual salary concerned was £75,000 to £80,000.

Prisoners: Repatriation

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what progress he has made in finalising compulsory prison transfer agreements with (a) Nigeria, (b) Jamaica and (c) Vietnam.

Jeremy Wright: As part of our strategy to reduce the foreign national offender population, we are discussing compulsory prisoner transfer agreements (PTAs) with a number of countries including Nigeria, Jamaica and Vietnam. We generally do not disclose the details of those discussions, in the interests of our diplomatic relations. In Nigeria, legislation for compulsory prisoner transfer is expected to pass shortly, after which negotiations on the compulsory PTA can begin.
	While compulsory PTAs can be difficult to negotiate, my ministerial colleagues and I remain determined to secure them wherever possible.

Prisoners: Voting Rights

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the implications for his policy on criminally insane prisoners and voting of the European Court of Human Right's ruling on Alajos Kiss v Hungary (Application No. 38832/06).

Damian Green: The issues associated with prisoner voting rights are wide-ranging and touch on the voting rights of mentally disordered offenders. The Government is currently considering the next steps on prisoner voting rights and will consider any implications for mentally disordered offenders in that context.

Terrorism: Greater London

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people in the London borough of Havering were convicted of terrorist-related activities in each year since 2005.

James Brokenshire: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Home Department.
	Although the Home Office publishes statistics on arrests and outcomes under the Terrorism Act 2000 “Operation of police powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 and subsequent legislation: Arrests, outcomes and stops and searches”, statistics for convictions are not recorded on a geographical area basis. A link to the latest edition of this publication is provided at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/counter-terrorism-statistics/hosb1112/hosb1112?view=Binary